Father of Time Trilogy Pt 1  Father of Time
by Lina-Baggins
Summary: In a brand new three part series, the tenth Doctor returns to Earth postDoomsday to discover a new enemy, a brilliant new companion with a devastating secret and the possibility that he is no longer the last time lord...
1. Chapter 1: Post Rose

Doctor Who: Father of Time

(author's disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. I wish I owned David Tennant. The man is F-I-N-E and season three rawks! This disclaimer applies to all chapters. This was first posted at if you're wondering. All OC are my own creation. Any reference to anything else is not affiliated to me. Enjoy!).

Pairing: Ten/OC's. References to Rose, come back Billie!!!!

----

Somewhere in the far reaches of space, in a lost corner of time, a blue london police box hurtled through the vacuum. On the inside, a myriad of computers blinked and chattered away. A tall, slim man stood, slightly hunched, at a control panel. A man known only as the Doctor. He looked fairly human, though appearances were deceiving. He wasn't human. He was a Time Lord, the last of his kind. All things considered, he was also miserable.

The Doctor allowed the Tardis (the ship he piloted that took the form of a policebox) to exit orbit around the supernova that he had used to say goodbye to her. Rose Tyler, now safe in another universe. Safe from the Cybermen and Daleks. Safe from everything.

Safe from him.

God how he missed her. He hadn't even been able to tell her that he loved her.

How long had he orbited the supernova? How long had he tried and tried to use the last vestiges of the temporal void to reach Rose? He couldn't remember. This from a being who had seen the rise and fall of Earth's greatest civilisations. All for a woman.

The Doctor buried his face in his hands. Behind him, a small screen that was previously switched off flickered back on. A blinking cursor appeared. The Doctor remained oblivious. Three words appeared on the screen:

IT IS TIME.

------

Several millions of light-years away, Sandi Jenkinson stood in her kitchen washing dishes in her blue, polar-fleece, penguin pyjamas. Her MP3 was wired to the headphones in her ears as she whirled across the kitchen, busting a dance move here and there as she slid the last of the plates into the cupboard where they were kept. It was her favourite song and damn if she cared what her flatmate thought of her terrible singing. She was having fun.

Sandi, however, couldn't shake the sense that there was something... _someone_ coming. She often felt that way, never being able to properly explain the sense that bordered on precognition. Her flatmate, Nicola, always thought she was just plain weird. It wasn't Sandi's fault, she was just born that way.

------

Back inside the Tardis, the Doctor lost his balance slightly as the spacecraft did a massive one-eighty degree turn and headed in the opposite direction to the co-ordinates that the Time Lord had entered into the Tardis' navigational computers. Once the Doctor realised where they were headed, he flew into a rage. Pounding keyboards and trying for manual overrides didn't work. Eventually, the Doctor threw his head back and began screaming at the ship.

'What in the names of the seven suns of Plexibebel do you think you are doing? I'm the PILOT! You're the damn SHIP! Let's try this the conventional way, shall we? I am NOT ready to go back there! Not without Rose!'

Still oblivious to the tiny screen, the three words that had previous been displayed there disappeared. They were replaced by a new message:

SHE IS READY.

------

Sandi cleaned the last of the dishes away as the final bars of _32 Minutes_ by The Deppdown Docks died in her headphones. The night had been a good one; one of her favourite films had been on television, her job as a games designer was finally beginning to be rewarding the long slog at college and her flatmate wasn't hogging the DVD player. Yep, things were beginning to look up.

Right until her front windows and door exploded into the living room.

------

The Doctor paced the floor of the Tardis, ruffling his short mop of straight, dark-brown hair with a slender hand. He glared at the central navigational computer, his unusually dark-brown eyes flashing angrily. Colour was fast draining from his already pale face.

'Okay, if you won't let me fly, then would you mind explaining _why_ we're heading back to Earth? In case you didn't notice, I already saved Earth from the Cybermen _and_ the Daleks. Rose... Rose is... safe, if you can call it that. Just tell me why we're going back to the place that stole Rose from me?'

An image flashed up on screen. The Doctor squinted, then stepped back in shock. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

'Of all the... impudency! After everything... oh, I have to increase speed. We need to get back to Earth immediately!'

------

Sandi coughed, dust swirling through the air and clogging her airways. She waved away the smoke and squinted through the haze. The door and windows were in fragments, strewn across the floor of the living room. It was chaotic; a massive, gaping hole opened onto the darkness of the night outside. She quickly did a mental sweep of the scene. There were no obvious signs of explosives, so it wasn't that. She lived on the second storey of the apartment block, so a car accident was _definitely _out. It didn't make sense whatsoever. Doors and windows did not simply decide to spontaneously combust in her living room. Something was definitely _off_.

_Okay, my door is on the floor and I'm going to be forking out a few hundred quid tomorrow to get that sodding window fixed. Brilliant. Just wait until I find the sods who did this, I'll rip 'em limb from limb, I'll take 'em apart, I'll..._

Sandi gasped. The rubble was shifting.

------

The Doctor raced from monitor to monitor, checking on the Tardis' progress. Upon reading a chart, he gasped.

'No! No... surely it isn't possible! But I'm... but I'm not... it can't be very probable that... oh who _cares_? Woohoo! We're going back to Earth!'

The Doctor did a quick dance around the main computer centre.

------

Sandi ran into her bedroom and slammed the door shut, locking it with the deadbolt. She grabbed a duffel bag and yanked open her desk drawer. Shoving her laptop, several computer disks, a thumbdrive, a screwdriver, a memory card and a fresh battery pack into the bag, she attempted to climb out of the window. Suddenly the door exploded open. Sandi sagged against the window, one leg half out.

'Oh... _God_, this is not good,' she moaned. The being in her doorway whizzed and clicked at her rather menacingly.

**You are ready, Shandaiah**, it said in a mechanical voice. Sandi struggled to climb out of the window.

'Shan... Shan... oh, whatever, I'm not her! You have the wrong girl!'

**You are Shandaiah**, the being replied, clicking toward her. Sandi yanked her other leg out of the window.

'Sorry, but not interested. Perhaps you should try next door!' Sandi yelled, dropping onto the balcony, sliding down the drainpipe and disappearing into the night.

The clicking being hissed angrily, then disappeared.

------

The Tardis materialised in a whoosh on a dark sidestreet in the middle of a park. The doors opened and the Doctor stepped out. He rubbed his arms.

'Bit chilly tonight, I shouldn't wonder. Should've brought an overcoat.'

Three seconds later, he was bowled over by a young, brown-haired woman with a duffle bag tearing across the lawn like mad.

------

Sandi fell hard on her hip, dropping the bag. She had collided with a tall, thin man who was standing next to what looked like an old-fashioned police box. She scrambled ungainly to her feet. The tall man bent down and picked up her bag.

'I... uh, I, I'm _terribly_ sorry, sir! It's just, there's something rather frightening in my apartment across the street and I... well, let's just say I'm not prepared to stay holed up in my study with some weird _thing_ whirring and clicking like an angry clock at me!'

The man gave Sandi a lop-sided grin as he handed back the bag. Sandi took the bag slowly. The man put his hands into his coat pockets.

'No problem, I'm a bit of an expert in all things weird, whirring and clicking. What's your name?'

'Sandi Jenkinson,' she replied, shouldering the bag. The tall man took a step back. He laughed; a short, bark of a laugh and clapped his hands.

'So _you're_ Sandi Jenkinson! My, my, here I was thinking that it would be _hard_ to find you! Good lord, you ran straight_ to_ me! No time to explain now, you have to get inside the Tardis,' he said, ushering her into the police box. Sandi struggled against his firm grip.

'What? Wait! Let me go! Stop! I demand to be released! Damn it, let me go!' Sandi shouted, knocking his hand free. The man stopped. Sandi put her hands on her hips.

'Tell me exactly who you are! What the _hell_ is going on here? Why were those _things_ calling me Shan... Shan-dye...'

'Shandaiah?'

'Yes, that... wait, how do _you_ know that? Who the hell are you?'

The tall man stepped back. He rubbed his mouth. He looked up at the stars, at the trees... _everywhere_, but at Sandi.

'Think hard. You already know, don't you? You don't know how you know what you know, but you know it all the same.'

Sandi gasped. The bag dropped back to the ground.

'You aren't... you can't be... I don't _know_ you... so how can I possibly _remember_ you? You... you're the Doctor, aren't you?'

The Doctor smiled and rubbed his hands with glee.

'See? That wasn't so hard now, was that? Oh, by the way, you _can't_ be Shandaiah. Not unless you were some really high-ranking Time Lord, but quite obviously you've got something to do with it all, so I suppose that doesn't leave me much choice.'

'Say what?'

'No time. Into the Tardis, sweetheart.'

'And if I say no? What then?'

'Then, Sandi Jenkinson, you will be squashed like a bug and I'll have to go on being the last Time Lord in existance.'

Sandi looked at him blankly. She sighed tiredly.

'I'm not sure if I care or not. I am sure, however, that scary, whirring things blasted my front door and windows apart and I really, _really_ don't want to go back there where _things_ are calling me by a name that _might_ have been mine had I been born a few trillion-billion lightyears out of this solar system. I'm also sure that I don't want to be squashed, bug-like or not. Is that alright with you?'

The Doctor smiled warmly, bowing her into the Tardis.

'Perfectly alright with me.'

------

**The child escaped.**

**We know this. She is with another.**

**The Doctor? We thought he perished in the Time Wars along with the rest of his kind.**

**No. We received information on the Dalek wavelength before the race was obliterated.**

**We had heard that similar had happened to the race of Cybermen mark II. Can anything be done?**

**Pursue.**

------

'So... _Doctor_... what exactly _is_ going on? Why were those things chasing me?' Sandi asked as the Doctor ran past, lighting up various panels of controls. He stopped, clapped once, then whirled to face her.

'Oh, well, you see it's all very simple,' he began explaining, speaking at ninety miles an hour.

'Those creatures obviously detected that you aren't all human, despite your previous misconceptions and therefore have a use for you other than... whatever it is you do here on earth...'

'What? Designing video games?'

'Yeah, that, so they've come for one of two reasons. Option A is that you are one of them and they've come to take you home...'

'... I doubt that...'

'... which leaves option B, which is that you are a threat or in fact will be one in the future, in which case they've come to kill you.'

'Not sure that I like that option either,' Sandi groaned, sinking to her knees on the floor of the Tardis. The Doctor smiled kindly and knelt in front of her.

'I'm not sure there are going to be many other options from here on in, Sandi. But I have to ask you a favour, since you're right here and quite comfortable.'

'What's that?'

'At all times, trust me, listen to me and don't EVER touch the controls of the Tardis unless otherwise instructed to. Okay?' The Doctor said cheerfully, leaping to his feet in an agile spring and returning to his quick pacing around the control panels. Sandi pouted.

_Not sure I should have trusted this fella so easily_, she thought, pulling out her laptop from the duffel bag. Her MP3 toppled out as well. The Doctor stopped and turned around. He spotted the laptop and began laughing hysterically. Sandi stared up at him incredulously.

'What on _earth_ are you laughing at?' Sandi asked. The Doctor pointed at the laptop, slapping his knee, still hooting with laughter.

'Oh _dear_! One does forget how behind the times the human race is at times!'

'Are you making fun of my computer?'

'Yeah, yeah I do believe I am, actually!'

'Oh, _fine_ then. Just because none of my technology comes from the fifty-first century!' Sandi grumbled. The Doctor stopped laughing. He stared at Sandi, a very serious look on his face.

'How did you know that? How on earth do you know about the fifty-first century?' The Doctor asked quietly. Sandi covered her mouth quickly.

'I... I don't know.'

'You know. You know how you know. Tell me how you know!' The Doctor roared. Sandi covered her head, whimpering. The Doctor's eyes widened. He began to shake. He knelt quickly and pulled Sandi's hands from her head. His intense brown eyes bored into her blue ones.

'I am so sorry, Sandi, so _terribly _sorry. That was totally uncalled for. It's just... there's something going on and I'm at a total loss to explain it.'

'Was that any reason to yell at me?'

'How did you know?'

'I honestly _don't_ know. It was just a number that I picked out of my head.'

'You said those things called you Shandaiah. Do you have any idea why they might have called you that?'

'None whatsoever. Why, have you heard that name before?'

The Doctor stopped and Sandi saw something in his eyes that truly indicated how far away from home the Doctor really was. Something else inside her gave her a name.

'Gallifrey?' Sandi offered. The Doctor looked shocked. Then his eyes narrowed.

'That wasn't you. That wasn't Sandi Jenkinson who knew the name of my home planet. Something else told you the name Gallifrey. Do you know what it was?'

'N-no, but... Gallifrey? That name... it... it's like I remember it from before. That name, Shandaiah, it's a Gallifreian name. You've heard it before. Tell me.'

The Doctor stood up and walked away to the panels on the central core of the Tardis. He flicked a few switches and turned a knob on the core and stood in silence for a few moments. Sandi had the feeling that she had pushed her luck with the strange man.

'Shandaiah... _Queen_ Shandaiah. It's an old Gallifreian legend. Impossibly old. I didn't think that anyone but the elder Time Lords knew it. I guess I was wrong. Those clicky things obviously salvaged a record of it from the remnants of Gallifrey. It is said that when the Time Lords are in their darkest hour, that a child will rise from the ashes of the civilisation. The child will rebuild the lost empire. Shandaiah. The name in old Gallifreian means Saviour, literally translating to Queen Saviour.'

'So those... _things_ think I'm the saviour of the Time Lords? For heaven's sake, my father was a pilot and my mother was a truck driver!'

'Where's your father now?'

'W-he's...'

'Your mother?'

'She's...' Sandi stopped short. The Doctor raised his eyebrows, affording a half-grin.

'You don't know, do you?'

'Of course I do! I just... can't remember.'

'Sure. Totally understandable, not remembering the people who brought you up.'

'Stop making fun of me!'

The Doctor shook his head sadly and ran a hand through his hair with the air of a man who is very, very tired. Sandi thought for a moment.

'The memories... they're being suppressed, aren't they?'

'Want to explain how you know the things you do but have no idea who brought you up? You even knew the name of the home planet of an alien life form that you've never met before?'

Sandi closed her mouth. _This... Doctor. He isn't human. Just humanoid. Oh God_.

The Doctor turned back to the controls.

'We're going back to Gallifrey. I have to know more about this legend.'

------

**The Doctor is proceeding as planned. We will retrieve the carrier from his custody.**

**It is vital that we find the child. Her memories are being released.**

**She will remember?**

**Uncertain. Chances can not be taken. Find her.**

------

'Where the hell are my glasses?'

'What, these things? I found them on the floor. You've almost stepped on them twice!'

The Doctor whirled around to find Sandi sitting against the Tardis' far wall, tightening the screws on the arms. He marched over and held out a hand. Sandi smiled innocently and handed them back.

'I made a few... improvements to them,' she said brightly. The Doctor looked down and frowned, before turning away and putting them on. He gasped.

'What the... how did you... oh, now _that's_ clever! What are they?' The Doctor laughed, looking around the Tardis with a massive smile on his face.

'The lenses are specially designed to react to the ocular-cranial requirements, increasing or decreasing light and magnification as required. Oh, by the way, hit the button underneath the left arm.'

The Doctor raised his hand slowly to the left side of his face and felt the tiny button. He pressed it gently and stumbled slightly backwards.

'This... this isn't possible. This is nanotechnology! The human race is still a good one hundred and fifty years off the first _steps_ into this and you, my dear, _you_ have just created the human race's first pair of x-ray specs! This is _incredible_! Fantastic!'

Sandi grinned. She stood up and watched the Doctor stumble around, peering at everything through his new glasses. He spun around and looked straight at Sandi. He grinned sheepishly. In a split second, Sandi realised what he was looking at and threw her arms over her body. The Doctor blushed.

'Sorry,' he said, switching the glasses off. Sandi frowned.

'You should not abuse your privileges, Doctor! I fixed your glasses!'

'It wasn't you. It was the things suppressing your memories.'

'Ah, but you see, if it was, then it only has control of persuading me. I have to make the final decision.'

'Who told you that?'

'I... I'm not sure. Every so often I get the feeling that I'm having a conversation with two sides of myself.'

'I'll bet you are,' the Doctor murmured. taking the glasses off. Sandi shrugged. The Doctor moved towards her slowly until he was standing directly in front of her. He lifted his hands and touched the sides of her head gently.

'I want to know what's going on in there, but I need your permission,' he said softly. Sandi began to tremble.

'I... I don't...'

'I promise I won't hurt you, Sandi, but in order for me to help you I need to know what's hiding your thoughts. If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door closing.'

'But...'

'Please, Sandi. If this has to do with my home, then I need to know.'

Sandi gazed into his eyes. They were full of concern; _genuine_ concern, kind, gentle but firm. Up close, he was more handsome than he had seemed at first. For the first time, Sandi totally relaxed in his presence.

'Okay,' she whispered. The Doctor closed his eyes and took a deep, slow breath.

Suddenly, every memory, every dream, every thought that had ever passed through Sandi's head came flooding back in a raging torrent. But some of the memories flashing through her head weren't hers; images of a large council room crumbling into pieces, of a tall man all in white bundling her up in a blanket, the inside of another Tardis, the Doctor...

Sandi quickly conjured up a door. If he managed to get into her memories and thoughts relating to him, she wasn't totally sure what he would find. The Doctor opened his eyes slowly. His eyes were soft.

'Why didn't you want me looking at me?'

'Uh... I'm not sure what was there.'

'Some of those thoughts you didn't know were there, either, I suspect.'

'That white room... the council room... was that Gallifrey?'

'Yes. Whatever is suppressing your memories is losing its hold inside the Tardis.'

'Doctor?'

'Yes?'

'Do you think... could it be possible that I _am_ Shandaiah?'

'Well, you're certainly not all human. Those memories are from _way_ before you were supposed to born. Anything's possible, I've learnt that much.'

'Then, maybe, Shandaiah is a part of me. Bit like a bug-host situation.'

The Doctor stared at Sandi. She stood before him, an expression of understanding and acceptance washing over her face. But the Doctor knew that on the inside, the tiny girl in her heart was terrified. He'd seen that. The way she had seen everything. On the surface, she gave the impression of a grown-up woman, able to cope with anything, but on the inside she was still a terrified little girl, left all alone. Her loneliness had been painfully apparent when he had searched through her mind. She had had friends, sure, but there was always something that made her feel alone. He knew that feeling. It was the same feeling that he had had as a child, knowing that he would never be able to grow old and die, but would keep regenerating. He had envied humans for that. The reason for so many goodbyes...

'That's certainly a possibility, but we won't know until we get back to Gallifrey,' he answered. Sandi tipped her head to one side.

'What's left of Gallifrey, Doctor?'

'I have no idea. After the Time Wars, I left for Earth and vowed never to return. Scavengers may have come through and picked out the better parts of the rubble, but the basic computer terminals might still be functional.'

'If the planet is still there, you mean.'

'Well, yeah, there's always the possibility that Gallifrey was wiped out of existance. When you play around with time, you never really know what's going to happen.'

'Oh gee, that makes me feel _so_ much better, considering where we are.'

'Oh, nothing to be worried about, well, nothing to be _too_ worried about. I've had _loads_ of practice at this.'

'Thanks, that just alleviates every one of my concerns. Dear God, what _am_ I doing here?'

The Doctor put a lanky arm around her shoulders and grinned at her.

'Come on, it's not that bad. We'll be there before you know it.'

------------

**What about the informer? He is almost ready to speak.**

**The Doctor will be ready when he is summoned. We must be patient.**

**Indeed. Perhaps it would be prudent to wait a while before retrieving the carrier.**

**Is it imperative to the plan?**

**No. But we will wait.**

------


	2. Chapter 2: Boe Calling

'Hang on, now, what's this?'

Sandi stopped gawking at the roof of the Tardis and turned her attention to the Doctor, who was staring at a piece of plastic in his hands. He looked up.

'I don't suppose you know who the Face of Boe is, do you?'

Sandi shook her head. The Doctor took a deep breath and popped the piece of plastic back into his pocket. He ruffled his hair slightly, a puzzled expression on his face.

'Can't think of _why_ the Face of Boe wants to see me. Especially now, of all times.'

'Come off it. You're THE Doctor. Bet there's people all over the place who are _dying_ to see you.'

'Or see me die, same difference. But that's not the strange bit. He wants to see you, too.'

'Me? But he doesn't even know me!'

'He knows of you. That's good enough for him.'

'Charming. D'ya think he knows anything of the things that attacked me at the flat or the Shandaiah legend?'

'No idea, but we can ask. Always ask if you don't know. Much easier than trying to figure it out on your own. Saves time and a lot of trouble.'

The Doctor dashed over to the Tardis' controls and entered the co-ordinates. Sandi got to her feet, padded over and peered over his shoulder, which forced her to stand on tiptoe.

'So... how does it work?' Sandi asked. The Doctor breathed a tired sigh.

'You're nosy. Are you always this inquistive?'

'Pretty much, yeah. It's why I'm so good at my job.'

'It's going to get you killed.'

'Not dead yet. Besides, what can kill me in here?'

'Don't make me start counting.'

Sandi huffed and turned away. As she made her way back down to her duffle bag, the Doctor snuck a look over his shoulder and grinned. _She reminds me of Rose_, he thought, turning back to continue tapping away at the controls. As he turned back, Sandi stared over at the strange man. _He might be slightly bonkers, but he's a nice fella_, she thought. The Tardis gave a groan, rolling slightly in the Time Vortex. Sandi grabbed hold of a pillar.

'What the HELL is going on? I thought we were going to Gallifrey?'

'Nothing to worry about, we're just taking a slight detour,' the Doctor said calmly, clutching the side of the control panel firmly. Sandi moaned, her stomach heaving a little.

'Nothing to worry about, NOTHING to worry about? What the HELL do you mean, there's nothing to worry about? Where on EARTH are you taking me?'

'Well, not quite to Earth, but I guess that was just an euphemism. We're going to New Earth.'

'WHERE?!?'

The Doctor grinned mischievously. He pulled a lever and the Tardis swung in a three-hundred-and-sixty degree loop inside the vortex. Sandi howled. The Doctor laughed.

'Further into the future than you can imagine,' he said.

---------

**Everything is progressing as planned.**

**As it should. The child's memories?**

**Are being released. The carrier is weakening.**

**Is that wise? Is it prudent to allow her to experience them?**

**Most probably not, but we will wait. We are Zriekas. We know patience.**

---------

'What do you remember?' The Doctor asked, sitting across from Sandi, who was now on the floor, leaning against a wall and fiddling with the screws on the laptop's outer casing.

'Why do you care?' Sandi snapped, opening the case. A hurt look passed over the Doctor's face.

'Now, that wasn't very nice. I _did_ save you from those whirry, clicky things. Which, by the way, would probably have killed you.'

'I was on my out. I shimmied down the drainpipe and was off across the street before they even got to the balcony.'

'And there's every likelihood that if I hadn't turned up, those things would have caught you and killed you.'

'The point still being that I was still very much alive when I ran smack into you.'

Silence hung in the air for a moment as Sandi unscrewed a silicon chip and checked it for damage. The Doctor rumpled his hair slightly, unsure of what to say next. Rose had been clever, _very_ clever, but Sandi was something else. He sighed.

'I want to help you.'

'Why?' Sandi asked, still not looking up from the laptop motherboard. The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it. As he closed his mouth, Sandi looked up. The Doctor was surprised to see the obvious pain on her face. She put her screwdriver down and leant over the open computer to stare at him.

'Do you know what it's like to go your whole life not knowing who you are? To feel like there's a part of you that you don't really know? To always feel that whenever you think about something, there's someone else inside your head, discussing every decision with you? To have every person you meet think you're weird, even though you know that it really isn't you? Have you, Doctor?' Sandi asked quietly. The Doctor felt a lump rise in his throat. He looked down.

'No. But if you had to go through what... oh, never mind. As soon as we get to New Earth, we just might be able to get a little closer to what's been going on inside your head,' the Doctor replied softly. He raised his eyes to hers and afforded a lop-sided grin.

'I do care, y'know,' he said. Sandi smiled warmly for the first time at the strange man, who promptly blushed. She laughed.

'I know. It's not your fault. I get a bit grumpy sometimes. Sorry.'

'Good, so you should be,' said the Doctor cheerfully, leaping to his feet and pacing in front of her. Sandi gaped incredulously. The Doctor grinned mischievously.

'Why, of all the rude...'

'Rude, ha! Rose...' The Doctor began, then stopped. The tears came before he could stop them in time. Two large drops slipped over his cheeks and a sniffle escaped. Sandi's head shot up.

'Doctor? What's... Rose. Oh _God_, Doctor, who was she?'

The Doctor ignored her and walked away. Sandi watched the Time Lord leave the room, leaving her to think in the silence.

_He's a weird one, isn't he?_

_Not as weird as some of the people I've met._

_Who are you?_

_What do you mean, who am I? I'm you! You're talking to yourself again. You should really stop that. Not good for mental health, you know._

_Oh no. I know you. You're the one that's been putting all those ideas into my head. Those memories. All those concepts that I shouldn't know. How do you explain I knew about the Doctor?_

_I can't. It shouldn't be possible._

_You're Shandaiah, aren't you?_

_No._

_I know you are. Tell me the truth._

_No._

_No what? No you aren't Shandaiah, or no you won't tell me the truth._

_Both._

_Then you definitely aren't me._

_I am you._

---------

**She has made contact.**

**Then it is time to move.**

**We will have to wait. They need to return to Gallifrey before we can strike.**

**Agreed.**

---------

In the middle of a lush, green meadow inhabited by only a few lambs, there was an almightly whooshing. Out of nowhere, a blue police box materialised on the grass, scaring a yearling who dashed away and back to the herd. The doors swung open and the Doctor stepped out into the open, looking about.

'Looks about right to me. Least this is what it looked like the last time I was here.'

Sandi peeked outside the Tardis' doors and glanced around.

'This is Earth.'

'No, this is New Earth. We're in the year five billion, two hundred thousand and ninety-three. The original earth has already gone up in smoke...'

'... thanks largely to the Sun expanding to a Red Giant, then collapsing to form a White Dwarf,' Sandi finished, stepped outside to join him. The Doctor looked at her quizzically. Sandi shrugged.

'Year Eleven Earth Science. Astronomy unit.'

'Ah. Anyway, our best bet is to head over there,' the Doctor said, pointing across the field and into the distance, where a tall, black building rose up from the horizon.

'What's that? Sandi asked. The Doctor scratched his head.

'Looks like a museum of sorts.'

'Museum? Like, dinosaur bones?'

'Oh no. More like that ancient relic you call a laptop.'

'Oh. HEY!'

The Doctor took off at speed, laughing his head off, trailed by an indignant Sandi. After a few minutes, he slowed and allowed her to catch up. For a minute, Sandi walked quietly beside him, before asking the question that had been burning at the back of her skull.

'What did that chart mean?'

The Doctor walked on. His expression didn't change.

'What chart?'

'The one pinned to the main controls. It looked like some kind of life-sign reading or something.'

'I have a lot of charts with lifesigns on them.'

'This one was from Earth. _My_ Earth. But it was... odd.'

The Doctor stopped. By this time, the pair had almost reached the massive building, which towered in front of them. The wind whipped through his tan overcoat, causing it to flare out like a cape. He stared straight ahead.

'Why do you want to know?'

'I think I deserve to know if it involves me, do you?'

'I don't know if it does. Yet.'

'Just tell me. You _can _trust me, y'know.'

The Doctor turned to Sandi and looked her straight in the eye. A shock hit her as she fully understood how very far away from home the Doctor really was. He swallowed dryly.

'There... was a bio-signal, a lifesign, on your Earth, that was different to anything else in the universe. Something that I haven't seen in eons.'

'What was it?'

The Doctor stopped, unsure of how to proceed. He crashed ahead.

'It was the sign of another Time Lord.'

---------

**And the informer?**

**They are almost with him. It is time for him to tell the lonely god his truths.**

**Lonely God?**

**Yes. A title, nothing more.**

**Dusty senator. Rebel, maybe.**

---------

'Another Time Lord? Is that really so impossible?' Sandi scoffed, but dropped the act when she saw the look on the Doctor's face. He rumpled his hair, then rubbed his face contemplatively.

'Well, it _is_. Y'see, there's the small obstacle of the very BIG notion that I am, in fact, the last Time Lord in existance.'

'Pfft, really? How do you know?'

'There was an apocalyptic catastrophe known as the Time Wars. I survived because I was fighting on the front line. When I returned to Gallifrey, it was gone. Every single Time Lord wiped clean out of existance.'

'Dear _God_, that's terrible! How on EARTH did you survive?'

'Long story, which I might tell you one day. Anyway, I searched for years, never finding another. But just after I lost Rose...' The Doctor trailed off, staring wistfully into the distance. Sandi touched his arm gently, at which he looked down at her immediately, his eyes full of hurt.

'Who was she, Doctor?' Sandi asked softly. The Doctor licked his dry lips and sighed defeatedly. He knew he had to talk this time.

'Rose Tyler was my... assistant for a few years. She came with me on my travels through time and space. She saw things she never even believed existed. She was wonderful, brilliant, smart, beautiful...'

'Did you love her?'

'Now, what kind of question is that? I mean, we spent a lot of time together and got into some decidedly hairy situations...'

'Don't fob me off. I asked you a simple question. Did... do you love Rose Tyler?'

The Doctor was silent for a moment. Then...

'She loved me. That's enough for any man. Or Time Lord.'

As he moved ahead, Sandi got the distinct impression that the conversation was over. They approached the double glass doors that heralded the entrance to the building. The insignia on the doors depicted a black water-bird standing in a pond with two suns behind it. The doors slid open on approach and the Doctor stepped inside the chilly building, Sandi close behind.

The lobby was an almost circular room with a semi-circular desk of dark, polished wood. To the left of the desk was a curving staircase which was obviously used to get to the upper floors. The humanoid receptionist who was sitting behind it looked up as the Doctor swept across the room. He came to a stop at the desk and grinned at her.

'Hi there! I'm from the building and planning committee of the local council,' he said quickly, flashing the receptionist the piece of plastic that he had been studying earlier in the Tardis. The receptionist appeared surprised, but nodded.

'Yessir, how can I help you?'

'Ah, yes, you see, my assistant and I were just wondering what this place is?' The Doctor asked, motioning to Sandi, who was watching in amazement. The receptionist looked puzzled for a moment.

'Well, sir, I thought the council would have the Museum of Past Life on it's records? It contains records, relics and artefacts from Old Earth that were transported here before the explosion.'

'Yes, yes, of course. I remember now. Thank you very much! We'll just be having a look around, make sure everything structurally secure, don't mind us, won't be here long,' the Doctor rattled on, grabbing Sandi by the hand and dragging her speedily up the staircase while the receptionist stared confusedly after them. As she staggered up the steps, Sandi peered at the plastic covering, which appeared to house a piece of slightly yellowed paper.

'Doctor?'

'Yeah?'

'What _is _that crummy bit of paper you carry around and _why_ did that receptionist think that we were from the building and planning committee?'

The Doctor laughed heartily, shaking the piece of protected paper.

'_This_, Sandi Jenkinson, is one _very_ useful piece of dried wood pulp. Probably the second most useful thing I own, except maybe my sonic screwdriver. This is psychic paper. Very useful. I can use it as an interstellar identification card for absolutely anything. I can be anyone in any position anywhere in the universe. Also works for my companions.'

'Really?'

'Really. I once used it and ended up being recognised as the King of Belgium. But that's another story. Here we go.'

The Doctor stepped off the staircase and into a draughty corridor which had many rooms, all of which were able to be seen through the glass doors that led to them. At the far end of the hall, the brushed-steel doors of the buildings central elevator system were clearly visible. Sandi strode onto the landing and moved quietly down past the doors, peeping inside at the various exhibits.

'Doctor, what _is_ all this?' Sandi whispered in awe. The Doctor furrowed his brow.

'They're museum exhibits, ancient relics of your Earth. The Tardis brought us here for a reason, so either the Face of Boe is in here by choice or is being held against his will.'

'I don't like the sound of either of those options, frankly.'

'You know, neither do I,' the Doctor whispered back, approaching the elevators. He stepped inside and looked at the buttons. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as Sandi scrambled in after him.

'Maintenance. Best place to check first,' the Doctor muttered, pressing the basement level button. The steel doors slid shut with a click and the lift shot down at tremendous speed. It stopped just as suddenly as it started. When the doors opened, it wasn't a draughty corridor like upstairs. The hall was dank and musty-smelling, the walls made of cold stones that were covered in a thin, green slime. The Doctor moved forward slowly, sonic screwdriver ahead of him. Sandi stayed close behind as the pair made their way to a brown door about halfway down the corridor. With his back against the wall, the Doctor held the sonic screwdriver to the lock and switched it on. A blue light shone on the lock for a moment, before a distinct click echoed softly in the corridor. The Doctor tried turning the doorknob, which turned easily and the door swung inwards. Sandi gaped as she followed him inside the dark room.

'What was _that_?' Sandi hissed as they moved between between shelves full of pickled and preserved animals; some familiar, some just outright strange.

'My sonic screwdriver. Will open any lock or door not sealed with a deadlock seal. Another very useful piece of equipment.'

'That makes total sense. Not.'

'Shh, I think I just found what we're looking for.'

The narrow room opened up into a semi-circular area that was full of cracked glassware, which judging from the crusted formaldehyde on the rims had been used to house a host of very unlucky exhibits. But that wasn't what the Doctor was interested in. What immediately grabbed his attention was a large tapestry which appeared to be from eighteenth century france, a time period that he was well acquainted with.

'Now, what are you doing here?' the Doctor murmured, popping his glasses on and peering at the wall-hanging. Keen to try out the new features, the Doctor engaged the X-ray function and squinted at the fabric, mouth slightly open. He gave a low laugh.

'Of all the places to hide... Sandi, get over here.'

Sandi, who had been examining the base of a shattered beaker that had once contained a black widow spider, picked her way over to her companion and stared at the wall.

'What is it?'

'This shouldn't be here.'

'Well, obviously. This is where they keep all the broken stuff. This clearly isn't broken _or_ dead. Maybe the cleaners stuck it in here and forgot about it.'

'No... it's more than that. I think... just maybe...'

The Doctor pulled the tapestry aside. Sandi gasped. Where there should have been a cold, stone wall was a swirling vortex which appeared to warp the very wall. After a few moments of staring at the wall, the Doctor stepped aside and bowed to Sandi.

'Ladies first,' he said, grinning.

---------

**They are almost there.**

**We could attack. We have the resources, knowledge that they do not.**

**Patience, apprentice.**

**Apologies, master.**

---------


	3. Chapter 3: Someone Different,Someone New

'You must be mad. Absolutely off your rocker. Off the plank and into Nuttyville if you think I'm going in _there_ before you!'

'Okay, OKAY! I don't know, you try and be the gentleman and this is the thanks you get,' the Doctor grumbled, taking a step towards the vortex. The swirling became more intensive. He turned on his heel and put his hands on Sandi's shoulders. Inconveniently, that was the point when her heart leapt into her throat. She coughed slightly, shivering in the cold. The Doctor gave Sandi a very serious look.

'Alright, here's the plan. I'll go in there and you come in after me.'

'Yes... and then?'

The Doctor grinned sheepishly. Sandi's mouth dropped open. She slapped him, hard, on the shoulder.

'You FREAK! You're making this up as you go along!'

'Yeah... but I do it brilliantly. Come on, in we go.'

The Doctor stepped through the portal, causing the warping stones to shimmer and shift slightly. Sandi stared after him.

_Well, here goes nothing,_ Sandi thought. She closed her eyes and leapt head-first into the void.

With a pop! Sandi appeared on the other side, landing face-first at the Doctor's feet, her lips smack-bang on the toe of his right shoe. She looked up at the grinning Time Lord.

'I knew you and I were getting along well, but really, there's no need for you to worship me so,' the Doctor joked as he offered Sandi a hand up. Scrambling to her feet, Sandi stared around the chamber they had ended up in.

It was a large room with sandstone walls, but the floor was almost completely sand. Moreover, the sand was shifting, slowly, almost imperceptively, but most definitely moving. The portal roared behind them, glowing with a dull light which dimly lit the floor in front of them. A pale light shone from the roof of the cavern, illuminating roughly three feet of airspace. The Doctor reached down and took Sandi's hand.

'On we go, then,' he said softly. The pair trudged cautiously forward, Sandi keeping well behind the Doctor while he clutched the sonic screwdriver in a death grip with his free hand. The path opened up to a large stone altar, lit with an ethereal light. The Doctor let go of Sandi's hand and popped his glasses back on as he crouched down and examined the steps.

'Amazing... a real Myan altar, easily a few hundred thousand years old, but this is _perfect_. Oh, this is _beautiful_! Sandi, come look at this!'

Sandi barely heard a word the Time Lord spoke. She was busy staring, open-mouthed, at the object situated at the top of the altar. It looked like a large, tropical fish tank without its lid, but there appeared to be no water. Inside the tank was what Sandi thought looked like a wrinkly, old, brown...

_Well, well. My old friend._

The Doctor's head shot up. His eyes locked onto the tank. He smiled.

'Hello, you,' he said softly. Reaching behind him and gently taking her hand, the Doctor led Sandi up the steps to the top of the altar

_You certainly took your time getting here, Doctor._

The Doctor grinned, alighting on the last step, helping Sandi up beside him. Sandi stared in amazement. It really _was_ what she had thought it was. Inside the tank was a large, wrinkly, old, brown face. It's eyes were very much alive; peering around at the Doctor and Sandi inquistively, but they appeared slightly dulled by age. The Doctor nudged Sandi forward.

'Sandi Jenkinson, may I introduce you to an old friend of mine. _This_ is the Face of Boe, the oldest living being from the Isop galaxy.'

'Err, pleasure to _meet_ you,' Sandi stuttered, giving an awkward curtsey. The Face of Boe chuckled.

_There's no need, child. I know who you are._

'He's telepathic,' the Doctor whispered to Sandi. Sandi stared at him.

'He's _what_?'

'Telepathic. His thoughts are transmitted directly to the speech centres of that tiny human brain of yours.'

'Oh. Hey!'

'You wanted to see us. Is there something wrong?'

_Not wrong as such. I believe I am close to death now, so it is time that I told you the greatest secret that Boekind has harboured these long years._

The Doctor crouched beside the tank and placed his hand against the glass. The Face of Boe turned slowly to face him and smiled serenely.

_Years ago, I could see your pain. I felt it. I knew what I had to tell you would stop it, but it wasn't time. You needed more time to find __her__. I knew that perhaps I should have told you after the Daleks were destroyed the first time, but you were still with the Rose child._

The Doctor felt bile rise in his throat. He took his hand from the glass and stood up. Sandi inched away, acutely aware of the aura of power that seemed to emanate from from the Time Lord.

'What's Rose got to do with all this?' The Doctor asked coldly.

_I feel your anger. Rightly so. But the Rose child is not important to your quest. Perhaps if you had found the escaped child sooner, certain events may have been prevented. But that is not relevant._

'Are you trying to tell me that if I had found Sandi sooner, Rose might still be this side of the void?!?'

_It is a possibility, as are all things. But hush, I must tell you the secret._

The Doctor lowered himself and sat cross-legged before the tank. Sandi crept forward and knelt beside him. The Face of Boe began his story.

_Many thousands of years ago, Boekind forged an alliance with the Time Lords of Gallifrey against the Daleks. We fought valiantly, side by side, but the Daleks appeared to match us blow for blow. Shortly after the last Time War commenced, the Great Council of Gallifrey came to me. They entrusted me with the care of six young Time Lords, barely a century old, still tiny children. After you, Doctor, initiated the final strike and both races were obliterated, I watched the emperor's ship tumble into darkspace._

'But... the Time Lords fought alone in the last war,' the Doctor said, rather confused. Sandi looked at the Face of Boe, who shook almost imperceptively.

_We were, as you would say, Plan B. The Time Lords had access to our technology and should they fall before defeating the Daleks, we would attack. But that is not the most important part of my story. As I said, I watched the emperor's ship fall into the safety of darkspace. I knew that, should he survive, the universe would be in danger once again. I knew that you were still alive; weak, albeit, but both hearts still beating. But I knew, if anything happened to you, the race of Time Lords would perish and the last hope of defence for this galaxy would disappear. So I followed the Dalek ship into the darkspace. There I hid the remaining children on a sanctuary ship, the _Utopia_, where they would grow up and develop into knowledgeable Time Lords._

'What of the TARDISes? Did you save them, too?'

_Only one. Yours and one other were the only two to survive the Time War. It was a battle that cost the universe a great deal. But there is more. Some years ago, I returned to the ship to check the children's progress. It was then that I discovered that one of the children, Shandaiah, had escaped. She had left her corporeal being behind and fled as mere consciousness across the stars._

'WHAT?!? But that would take _phenomenal_ power! No Time Lord has ever possessed such power.'

_There was a reason the child was named Shandaiah. She possessed skill and strength that no Time Lord could rival. By the age that she fled, it is more than possible that she could sustain herself as just a soul. I never determined where the child went. But Doctor, know this. There is a greater threat than the Daleks to the Children of Darkspace. A hostile race known as the Zriekas know the old legends. They are almost cybermen but for one crucial difference. These cyborgs retain their imagination and many vestiges of their organic forms. Before Gallifrey was destroyed, I believe that a reconnisance team retrieved your legend of Queen Shandaiah. You must beware of these people, Doctor. The Zriekas formed an unsteady alliance many years ago with the Daleks. The Daleks depended upon the Zriekan imagination as the Zriekas depended on Dalek technology._

'Excuse me, but what does all this have to do with moi?'

The Doctor and the Face of Boe turned to where Sandi sat, hand raised in a friendly wave. The Doctor raised an eyebrow and shot a sidelong look at the Face of Boe. The massive face smiled softly.

_Sandi Jenkinson. Computer Game Designer. It was no coincidence that the Zriekas attacked you._

'Gee, really? I never would have thought that. Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious,' Sandi muttered, only to rewarded with a sideways kick from the Doctor. She fell silent for a moment.

'Why were they calling me Shandaiah?'

_The Doctor picked up the biosignal of another Time Lord on Earth. It was weak, but it was definitely there. The tardis materialised on your street, right across from your apartment. This leads me to one of two conclusions. Either you __are__ Shandaiah and are inhabiting the body of a human, or that Shandaiah is sharing your body, helping you without being obvious._

'The bug and the host,' Sandi whispered, colour draining from her face. The Doctor twisted his torso around just in time to stop Sandi slumping over as she swayed dangerously. The Doctor frowned at her, then looked back at the tank.

'Why do they need her? Surely if they know of her, they would also know of the other five children?'

_They did. When I returned to the ship, the other five children were dead. Fortunately for us both, Shandaiah had concealed her corporeal being inside the tardis before exiting the ship.'_

'She wouldn't risk using the tardis to escape, it would have alerted the Daleks to her existence,' the Doctor murmured. He looked back at Sandi.

'It would explain those weird memories... and the other Tardis.'

'But... I'm _me_! I'm no alien! I... I can't be,' Sandi trailed off, sobbing. The Doctor held her close, comforting her.

'It'll be okay. I promise. I can help you.'

'Sure. Got an alien-extractor on you? Because I could really _use_ one of THOSE right now!'

'You're being irrational.'

'Oh, _I'm_ being irrational!? I'M BEING IRRATIONAL!?! I'M THE ONE WITH SOMETHING ELSE INHABITING MY BODY!'

'SANDI, SHOUTING IS NOT GOING TO HELP THE SITUATION!' The Doctor roared, his own hidden power again rearing it's head like a woken dragon. Sandi quickly quietened. The Doctor closed his mouth, feeling slightly jarred and guilty for shouting at her. _It's not her fault, you remember what it was like having Cassandra inside __your__ head_ said a little voice inside his head. Sandi shifted uncomfortably.

'I have a question,' she said quietly.

_Ask and I will answer as best I can_, the Face of Boe said kindly. Sandi swallowed the lump in her throat. A fine rain of dust fell on her hair, but the young woman didn't notice.

'You said that there were _two_ possibilities, the first being that I really am Shandaiah and that I'm just inhabiting this body, which is crazy, because I have my own memories. But if I am, like, _really_ Shandaiah...'

_You are not Shandaiah._

Sandi started violently, slamming back against the Doctor's chest and winding him. As the Time Lord coughed, Sandi stared around before glaring back at the face in the tank.

'What was that? That was... like you, but not! Stop playing games with me!'

The Face of Boe gave her a sympathetic look.

_That was not me, but I have an idea of whom it was. But I am weak, time is short and there are still things to say. Firstly, Doctor. I must request that you find the sanctuary ship _Utopia_. I managed to load much of the archives of the Council there, including the legends. The bodies of the Children are still in status. Do not look for Gallifrey, it is gone. Secondly, Sandi. When the time comes, you will know who you are. The pair of you are about to face great trials and will have to make very difficult decisions regarding the people that you care about most in this universe. Goodbye... and good... luck..._

The sleepy eyes in the tank closed and the Face moved one last time, before resting motionless. The Doctor touched the glass.

'The last of his kind... to die a lonely traveller,' he whispered. Another fine trickle of dust fell, landing on Sandi's button nose and making her sneeze. She looked up. Her eyes widened.

'Ah... Doctor?'

'Yes?'

'Um, perhaps it would be prudent to start running.'

The Time Lord followed her line of sight to the roof. He gasped. Cracks of light were appearing in the cavernous ceiling, sending showers of fine debris tumbling down. Suddenly, a large boulder dislodged from the roof and crashed with a deafening thud to the floor. The Doctor leapt to his feet and grabbed Sandi's hand.

'Yes, I think it would be _quite_ prudent!' The Doctor shouted as he tore down the stairs, dragging Sandi with him. The pair raced back along the sandy path towards the now howling portal, which yawned before them.

'I think that the Face of Boe was keeping this place stable enough while he was alive so we could find him. Now he's dead, the immense pressure from the portal is causing the cavern to collapse,' the Doctor yelled over his shoulder, dodging a torrent of falling rocks that tumbled away to his left.

'Less talk, more run!' Sandi yelled back over the deafening roars that mingled in the air. The two tore to the portal and leapt in together, just before an enormous slab crashed to the ground where they had been standing.

With a crash, the time travellers dived out the other side, smashing into a broken wooden table and landing in a tangled mess of limbs. Sandi struggled to sit up and watched at the portal yawned open once more, before disappearing with a tiny pop. The Doctor sat upright and took his glasses out, popping them on.

'Well,' he said, examining the now-solid wall behind the tapestry, where the portal had been.

'That was rather... _odd_.'

Sandi stared incredulously at him as he frowned at the stones, touching the previously warped stones with one hand.

'Odd? You think it was odd.'

The Doctor twisted his torso to look at her. He raised an eyebrow.

'Well, yeah, I mean... how often you come across the last member of a species to be told that you're not alone in this universe even though you thought you were. I'd say that was fairly odd, yeah?'

Sandi gaped as he turned his attention back to the wall, examining it with the sonic screwdriver.

'Unbelievable. You're just... unbelieveable!'

The Doctor gave Sandi a cheesy grin.

'Thank you! Now, enough chit chat. Its high time that we got back to the tardis. We got ourselves some hunting to do!'

---------

**The gap is closed. The Doctor knows of our existance.**

**Also of the old alliance. He is now a threat to us.**

**And the child?**

**When the parts are reunited. She is on her way now.**

**Prepare for attack.**

**---------**

The Doctor and Sandi stood at the wall for a while, examining every inch. The Doctor eventually put his sonic screwdriver away and took off his glasses. He heaved a sigh of puzzlement. Sandi peered at him.

'Well? What springs forth from the master mind?'

'Well, as far as I can tell, the Face of Boe was using up _tremendous_ amounts of telepathic power to keep open a tiny gap in the vagueries of space and time. Probably what eventually killed him. That little chamber of his was his own creation. The altar was meant to draw my attention in and he knew that you would most likely follow me rather than moseying around on your own.'

Sandi gave a quick laugh.

'I'm not stupid. There's probably a billion things on this planet ready and willing to kill me. Thanks, but I'll be sticking with a bodyguard,' Sandi retorted. The Doctor looked over, gave a low laugh and grinned.

'That's what I like about you. You follow rule one.'

'What's that?'

'Don't wander off on a strange planet. Better still, don't wander off at _all_, full stop.'

'Are you implying that I don't have a sense of adventure?'

'Well,' the Doctor said uncomfortably, ruffling his hair. Sandi's mouth dropped open and she stuck her hands on her hips indignantly.

'You think I'm no fun!'

'Now, I didn't say that.'

'No, but you were thinking it!'

'I was not!'

'Bet you five quid that Rose was more fun than me,' Sandi said sulkily. The Doctor's dark eyes flashed dangerously.

'Don't you dare speak about Rose that way. You never knew her. She was the bravest, most selfless human I...'

'Ever loved?'

'STOP IT! I'm warning you, Sandi Jenkinson, I'm _not_ the type of man to be messed with!'

'And I'm telling _you_, Time Lord, that if you don't start showing me a bit more respect, you can go get lost with that Tardis of yours and I don't _give_ a flying rats if I am stuck on a strange planet several thousand years in the future or past or light years from home. I'm sick and tired of having to live up to Rose's standard! I AM NOT ROSE TYLER!'

With that, Sandi turned on her heels and stormed from the room. The Doctor started after her, but strangely, all the energy drained from his joints. He slumped to the floor, his head in his hands. That's when the grief fully registered and the tears fell in torrents. The howling sobs wracking his very core, tearing at his hearts. The pain was too much too soon, every amplified emotion feeling like it would be his last. All the craziness surrounding Sandi's rescue from Earth, the arrival on New Earth, the news that he wasn't alone...

Alone. He had always been so very alone. The last of the Time Lords. Now he had company. A young, _female_ Time Lord that matched his wit and cunning blow for blow. But she wasn't. Sandi, _his_ Sandi was human. It was what was inside her that was Time Lord. Or was it? He didn't know. The rest of the answers were on board _The Utopia_. The Doctor brushed the tears away angrily, feeling tired. Rose. The fact that Sandi was so much like her had made him angry. She was smarter than Rose in a lot of ways, but her mannerisms, her presence... it was like having Rose back. When she did something, _anything_ different to what Rose would have done, it made him angry. Like his new toy had stop doing what it had been bought for.

_She isn't Rose_, came the little voice inside his head again. The Doctor rumpled his hair. He knew that. He knew it. But he hadn't come to grips with it yet, hadn't dealt with his grief...

'I know.'

The Doctor's head shot up. Sandi was leaning against the wall in the narrow hall.

'Know what?' The Doctor asked shakily. Sandi tapped her temple knowingly.

'You haven't dealt with your grief. It must have been tough.'

'I don't want to talk about it.'

'I know you don't. But we can't go on yelling at each other every time that I act differently to what Rose would have or you tell me something that I really don't want to hear. I just have to deal with the fact that there may just be the soul of a Time Lord sharing my body. You, Doctor, you have to deal with the fact that I'm not Rose. I never will be. I might be like her a little, but I'll always be me. Crazy Sandi from Eversleigh Street. Even if I am part Time Lord.'

The Doctor stared at her for a moment. For a instant, it appeared that she glowed faintly, like she was lit behind by a soft golden light. Then it was gone. The Doctor's mouth opened slightly. Sandi frowned.

'What's wrong?'

'You just... I think... I'm going mad.'

Sandi snorted.

'I coulda told you that.'

'Hey, enough of that! But... I think we might be just a little bit closer to finding out the truth behind all this,' the Doctor said, leaping to his feet and striding swiftly past her. Sandi ran to catch up.

'I thought we found out everything we needed to know from that big face thing?'

'Not quite. He told us where to look. Bit like a signpost, really.'

'A signpost?' Sandi asked bemusedly as she scrambled into the lift with the Doctor as he punched in the ground floor. The Doctor nodded, looking happier by the minute.

'Like directions on an interstellar highway... aw, brilliant! The Face of Boe knew exactly where to reach us and when, so he situated himself in a tiny pocket of void space. It would have been easier to gain access to the Tardis in the time vortex that way.'

'So, what's our next move? Pawn to E3?' Sandi asked dryly as the elevator slid to a halt. The doors slipped open with a hiss and the Doctor stepped out into the familiar corridor. The Doctor scratched his head.

'Well, I would think that our best bet is to head back to the Tardis and try and find this Utopia ship, eh? As far as we know, there are five other time lords still on board.'

'But, the Face of Boe said that they were dead!'

The Doctor grinned at her as they took the stairs two at a time.

'Ah, but you see, Time Lords have this little party trick. Sort of... a way of cheating death. Loads of fun. You never know what you're going to wake up as!'

'WHAT?!?'

The Doctor laughed and held out a hand to help her down the last few stairs. The receptionist who had met them earlier raised an eyebrow as they hurried past.

'Was everything to your satisfaction? Sir?'

The Doctor grinned wildly as he skidded out of the sliding doors.

'Yes, thanks, can't stop, must be going, take care now, see you again soon!' The Time Lord shouted over his shoulder as he charged up over the bank that led down to the building, Sandi waving cheerily as her as the pair broke into a run.

'What's this... little trick?' Sandi puffed as she jogged alongside the Doctor. The Doctor laughed, skipped and started running backwards so he could face her.

'It's called regeneration. Every time we "die", every cell in a Time Lord's body regenerates itself. Only, when it does, we often end up looking totally different.'

'So, how many times have you done it?'

'Oh, about nine,' the Doctor grinned, his boyish face lighting up. Sandi's mouth dropped open.

'So, you've got to be about...'

'Nine hundred, give or take a few years.'

'Sheesh, you look good.'

'Course I do. I moisturise,' the Doctor beamed, before slamming with full force into the doors of the Tardis. He promptly dropped to the ground, slightly dizzy. Sandi cracked up laughing as he fumbled for the key.

'Sure, go on, laugh at me,' he grumbled, reaching up to the lock. Sandi shifted her weight on her feet. The Doctor looked at her. He sighed and stood up.

'What's wrong now?'

'How many times can you do it?'

'Do what? Run backwards into the Tardis' doors? I'd like to stop at one, thanks.'

'No! Regenerate. I mean, you must have a limit.'

The Doctor opened the doors to the Tardis. His smile weakened.

'Yeah. Thirteen. I have around three lifetimes left, then I get to rest,' he said softly, a wistful look passing over his face. Sandi gently touched the back of his left shoulder. The Doctor's head dropped loosely to his chest. The young woman rubbed his back. The Doctor reached over and caught her hand. For a moment, the pair stood in silence, just holding each other's hand. Behind the Doctor's back, Sandi glowed, brighter this time.

'You know what it is to be alone,' the Doctor whispered. Sandi smiled sadly.

'I do.'

'That's why we have to find the ship. It has answers for both of us.'

The glow faded away and Sandi let her hand slide down into the Doctor's. She smiled at him.

'Then let's get going. We have a ship to find!'

---------

**All forces in positions. We are ready for the Doctor's arrival.**

**Kill the elder, but the child must be salvaged. Her body must be safe.**

**Her power... is it all that has been said?**

**She would not have survived so long without it.**

---------


	4. Chapter 4: Utopia

The Tardis entered the stream of the time vortex smoothly as the Doctor raced from scanner to scanner, desperate to pick up the _Utopia_. Sandi stood at the main terminal, taking his directions.

'So tell me, Doctor,' Sandi said casually, flipping a switch at his command. The Doctor peered closely at a readout in his hand.

'Mmmm?'

'How long is it gonna take us to find the _Utopia_?'

'Well, that's the thing, innit?' The Doctor said, scratching his head, jumping over to a tiny, blinking screen and staring at it.

'What'd you mean?'

'Well, _generally_ we'd be scanning just space, which'd take no time at all. But this is a Time Lord ship we're after. We need to be scanning space _and_ time, which is probably going to take just a little bit longer.'

'Fabulous. I'll just go read a book while you do that.'

'Oh no you don't. You stay at those controls until I say otherwise,' the Doctor said firmly, making Sandi feel like she had been told off by a teacher. She slumped glumly over the controls, twiddling her thumbs in a determinedly bored air. After a full minute of silence, the Doctor looked over at her through his glasses.

'I never asked, is there anyone back home who's going to miss you?'

Sandi looked up tiredly, then looked back down at the controls.

'Well, Nicola might wonder why I left the water in the sink and why her front door is in her television.'

The Doctor afforded a small smile and gave a tiny sniff of a laugh, eyes soft.

'No... I meant, anyone you care about. Boyfriend, girlfriend? Any family?'

Sandi laughed deadly and turned around, watching the Doctor scurry across the Tardis' floor to another screen. He looked at her, puzzled.

'What?'

'There's no-one, no more family, no boyfriend and _especially_ not a girlfriend. I don't bat that way. Anyway... I mean, I'm not exactly pretty, am I?'

The Doctor took in her blue penguin pyjamas, dark brown bangs and pale skin partnered with scared blue eyes. He smiled gently.

'You're not hard on the eyes. Trust me, I've seen a helluva lot worse.'

Sandi grinned tiredly.

'Thanks, I think.'

The Doctor looked back at the screen for a moment. Then...

'If you, y'know, want to get changed, there's a room through that panel over there,' he mumbled, gesturing behind him vaguely. Sandi looked down, then blushed.

'Ah, yeah, wandering around time in my pyjamas can't be good for business, can it?'

She exited the main bridge of the Tardis to change. The Doctor kept his concentration on the screen for a moment, before he realised that he was holding his breath. He exhaled slowly and shook his head.

'You're acting like a teenager. Stop it,' he muttered angrily to himself. Over on the main controls, one of the scanner began bleeping quietly. The Doctor sprang over to it and stared at it.

'Found ya,' he said, grinning from ear to ear.

---------

**Arrival in less than one hour, master.**

**Understood.**

**---------**

Sandi wandered the rooms in the back of the Tardis. She was a bit bemused as to how all this managed to fit inside an old police box, but she was too tired to care. She found a tiny room with a camp bed that was dimly lit by the light from the Tardis. Dropping the duffel bag onto the bed, she dug around the bottom. It was her luck bag, silly really, but Sandi was always prepared for the worst. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a waist length white top with long sleeves. It was tough enough to survive the worst life could throw at her but still comfortable enough to wear everyday.

Sandi changed swifty and tucked the bag under the camp bed. She definitely felt a lot better in her clothes rather than running around in her jimjams. She made her way back to the bridge, where she found the Doctor prancing around the main controls like a madman. He grinned wildly at her, his boyish face alight.

'Got it! Right under our very noses! My _God_, I'm good!' The Doctor shouted. Sandi laughed and clapped her hands. The Doctor caught her by the hands and danced her around the controls like an idiot.

'I found it, I found it, I FOUND IT!' The Time Lord chanted, spinning his companion around. Sandi giggled, then tripped, stumbling before crashing into the Doctor and sending the pair down in a heap. The pair burst out laughing and scrambled to their feet.

'So where was it?' Sandi asked, taking up position at the Tardis' main controls as the Doctor skidded to a halt next to her, staring at a small scanner. He grinned wickedly.

'You mean _when_ was it! About a billion years ago. God, I should have realised! The fourth great and bountiful human empire, fantastic! Just after the Daleks were uncloaked in darkspace, the _Utopia_ would have been discovered too. But the Daleks weren't after the _Utopia_ because they didn't know it was there! Ha!'

'Do you wanna run all that by me again?'

The Doctor looked at Sandi seriously, but not sternly.

'Look, before I regenerated the last time, Rose, me and a man named Captain Jack Harkness ended up on the Game Station, which used to be Satellite Five, a news satellite that broadcast to the entire world. But it was also sending another signal, a cloaking signal which was hiding the Dalek ships from radar, sonar and scanner, making them more or less invisible to everyone else.'

'So... we're going back to just before you defeated the Daleks the first time to find the ship in the same place that you discovered the Daleks!' Sandi shouted happily, glad to finally have caught on. The Doctor smiled cheerily and ruffled her short, dark hair.

'That's it! Now you're catching on! Good work! Now, Miss Jenkinson, if you would kindly step aside, I need to set the Tardis' controls and lock in the co-ordinates,' the Doctor said, shimmying past Sandi to the main control panel. As he keyed the information in excitedly, Sandi stepped up beside him and laid a hand on his forearm.

'Doctor... if we go back, then... you can see Rose.'

The Doctor's smile slid from his face. He stopped, then shook his head.

'I can't.'

'You can stop the invasion.'

'I can't. It doesn't work like that.'

'How come?'

'Once Rose crossed the void, she took her history with her. Oh, the Daleks are still dead. But... the Rose fighting the Daleks onboard the Satellite is just a ghost. Just a memory of a glorious fight. Course it's the reason I look like this.'

The Doctor pulled a funny face which made Sandi laugh. He smiled gently at her.

'Thanks for the thought, though. Very sweet.'

'I don't do sweet. You know that. I was being courteous.'

'Well, whatever it was, thank you.'

'You're welcome.'

'Right, grab onto something, here we go...'

The Tardis lurched in the time vortex, spun around and began heading back in time. As Sandi held on tightly to a pillar, she closed her eyes. Suddenly, the glow that had shrouded her earlier on New Earth returned, even brighter this time. The Tardis picked up speed, flying through the vortex like never before. The Doctor, concentrating on the controls, noticed a soft light on the panels that wasn't coming from the Tardis. He spun wildly around, mouth open as he stared at Sandi's luminescent form.

'Sandi! Open your eyes!' The Doctor shouted. Sandi's blue eyes flew open and the glow subsided. The Tardis slowed back to it's natural speed. The Doctor leapt from the controls to Sandi's side, kneeling beside her and checking her eyes.

'What? What's wrong?' Sandi asked suspiciously as the Doctor looked at her head from every angle. He frowned.

'You were glowing. Like a bright, golden... glowing thing.'

'You're mad.'

'I thought so, too, back in the maintenance room. I thought I saw you glow for just a brief moment. But I thought it was just the light playing tricks on my eyes. But I'm certain now... oh, big reaction there.'

Sandi was biting her lip, looking all around the room. The Doctor got up and stepped back, looking at her.

'Want to tell me?'

'Well, it's nothing, but...'

'It might be something, so tell me.'

'When I... that is, when we were... when you opened the Tardis' doors on New Earth and I held your hand, I thought I saw a reflection. It was like a pulse of light, soft and yellow, like a low wattage bedside lamp.'

The Doctor scratched his head.

'I don't like this. I don't like this at all,' he muttered. Sandi looked at him, scared.

'What? Is there something wrong?'

The Doctor licked his lips and looked away.

'Humans don't glow and as far as I know, neither do Time Lords. The last time I saw a human glow, it was Rose and she had the entire time vortex running through her head. Of course, she also had superhuman powers and she continued to glow until I took the power from her.'

'But I'm not glowing now! Look! I'm fine,' Sandi said, holding out both arms as evidence. The Doctor looked at them, then had a brainwave. He knelt before her and wrapped her arms around his neck, then wrapped his own around her waist, pulling her towards him in a close hug. Sandi looked straight up into his intense eyes. He was waiting for something to happen...

Then it did. The golden glow rushed straight up both arms and down her body, illuminating every inch of her and lighting up the Doctor's face. He grinned boyishly.

'Well, that was easy,' he whispered, letting Sandi go. The glow pulsed, then faded. He stood up and walked back to the controls. Sandi leapt to her feet and skidded after him.

'What? Wait! What just happened? How did you do that?'

'You glow when you experience intense emotions or encounter certain situations,' he said calmly, throttling the Tardis back. Sandi scratched her head.

'How do you figure that?'

'Well, the first time you were inside the Tardis, memories that weren't yours were released. That would have been the barrier, broken by your first experience of time travel. Just after we escaped from the chamber, you glowed. The first time we...' the Doctor trailed off. He was going to say held hands, but it was more than that. It was a connection. Sandi nodded.

'So you think that this time I travelled through time, it caused the glow?'

'And the intense emotion you felt when I held you close to me caused the same reaction,' the Doctor said, turning away to hide the blush and slightly embarrised grin on his face. Sandi frowned.

'I... don't remember feeling any different when you hugged me,' she said, thinking immediately that just maybe she was lying to herself. The Doctor shrugged.

'Maybe it was subconscious. Maybe whatever is hanging out in your brain reacted to my touch.'

'It could be that,' Sandi said squeakily. The Doctor laughed, turned back and ruffled her hair affectionately.

'It's going to be okay. After all, you're not dead yet and believe me, if you were housing all of time and space in that teeny tiny brain of yours, you would be.'

Sandi slapped his arm playfully hard, causing him to jump and rub the spot where she had hit him.

'Hey now, you didn't need to do that!'

'I'm just keeping you grounded, Time Lord. Don't get too big for your converse!'

The laughter from the Tardis echoed out into space and was absorbed by the vacuum as the ship flew on.

---------

**Thirty minutes until arrival.**

**Position, apprentice.**

**Yes Master.**

---------

'And there she is,' the Doctor breathed, looking at a screen. He motioned behind him to Sandi, who was back on the floor and still fiddling with her laptop. She looked up, the Doctor's borrowed sonic screwdriver in hand.

'What?'

'Take a look at this, will ya? Just look at that!'

Sandi picked her way through the many strewn parts of the laptop on the floor and scrambled up next to her new friend. She squinted at the screen.

'What am I looking at?' Sandi asked, as the Doctor peered at the watch on his wrist.

'Any second now...' he said. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a thousand ships popped into existence. Sandi gasped as the Doctor laughed and clapped.

'Always my favourite bit. Now, if we just pan around one hundred and eighty degrees...'

'Doctor, won't those Daleks notice the Tardis?' Sandi asked gingerly. The Doctor shook his head.

'We're still in the time vortex. Then there's the added bonus that they're after the me on the satellite rather than the me that's here now... ah, here we are!'

The image flashed up on screen and Sandi stared blankly at it. A large asteroid floated alone in the vacuum of space, inconspicuous and isolated. The Doctor clapped.

'A working chameleon circuit _and_ cloaking device, oh, _very_ good!'

'Er, Doctor?'

'What?'

'It's a rock.'

'Ah, it only _looks_ like a rock.'

'No, it is definitely a big, floating... rock'

'Maybe now, but...' the Doctor spun around crazily and punched at the controls.

'In three, two, one... ta da!'

The image of the asteroid faded away. In its place, a rounded pale orb flickered into view. Sandi leaned forward.

'What is _that_?!? Can the Daleks actually _see_ that?'

The Doctor shook his head, a crooked grin on his face.

'In all technicalities, we're the only ones who can see it. To the Daleks, its still just a lump of rock. They aren't operating at this wavelength. Nope, those thick thickety clunkers won't have a clue in blue blazes until its too late.'

'Well, that's comforting. So... how does one get on board this ship?'

'Ah. Y'see, if it was any other ship, I'd be able to land the Tardis inside it. But this _is_ a Time Lord ship. Looks like we might just have to link up.'

Sandi clapped and rubbed her hands.

'Oh goody! I've never linked up to a spaceship before!'

'Oy, don't get too excited, or I'll hook you up to the Tardis and use you to power the lights!'

'Hey! That's not very nice!'

The Doctor laughed and patted her back as the Tardis slipped out of the time vortex and into normal space.

'I never said I was nice. Oh, here we go!'

The Tardis hovered close to the pale orb. It wasn't large, maybe ten feet by fifteen. The Doctor's Tardis floated close to the orb, causing a change in the side of the ship. The faint outline of a door appeared in the side of the other ship. Suddenly, it appeared that the doors of the Tardis had melted into the side door of the the other ship. The Doctor clapped his hands.

'Oh yes, _definitely_ a Time Lord ship! Full integration with a Tardis, compatible technology and use of Chameleon circuits as _well_ as hijacking a cloaking signal. Brilliant!'

The Doctor skipped over to the Tardis' doors and threw them open grandly. Sandi peeped over his shoulder. She gasped as the Doctor grinned wickedly.

'Still don't want to go first?'

---------

**They have arrived.**

**Now we move. The child has returned.**

**And the Doctor?**

**Kill him.**

---------

Sandi stepped out of the Tardis and into a brilliantly lit white corridor. The Doctor stepped up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

'Well, this is different! It's been, oooh, maybe...' the Doctor scratched his head, trying to remember. Sandi cocked her head.

'Yes? How long?'

'Oh, around fifty years since I've been on one of these ships.'

'One of _these_ ships?'

'A Time Lord Sanctuary ship. It's designed to avoid all detection at any cost, including staying enveloped in the time vortex without moving through time.'

'Gee. You'd think that the Daleks would have done _anything _to get their... well, they don't actually have _hands_ as such, but you get what I mean.'

The Doctor moved forward, sonic screwdriver ahead of him. A flash of neon blue told him everything he needed to know. He tucked the screwdriver away inside his suit jacket.

'Nothing to worry about. All safe. On we go.'

The duo moved silently down the corridor, which appeared to be vast in length. Sandi got the distinct impression that as far as Time Lord ships went, they were _all _bigger on the inside than on the outside. As far as she was concerned, this ship was _huge_. The corridor alone would have dwarfed the Tardis' interior. The Doctor stopped in front of the first door they approached. A flash of blue and the door slid open. Sandi gaped. She knew what she was looking at. The Doctor stepped through the doorway, taking Sandi's hand protectively and leading her behind him.

The door opened into a large room which was obviously the bridge of the ship. Computer screens blinked feebly and faintly at the Doctor and Sandi as they moved silently past. It was deserted and for good reason. Nearly every screen and control panel was smashed beyond repair. Sandi grabbed the Doctor's arm and clung close to him. The Doctor stopped and put an arm around her. Sandi stared around, shaking.

'The ship... all the computers... it's all been destroyed.'

'Obviously the work of the Zriekas. Come on, we need to keep moving,' the Doctor said gravely as they passed the captain's chair. Sandi shuddered. The room was cold and forbidding, like the ghosts of those who had been onboard still walked there. They entered a small lift on the far side of the trashed room and the Doctor inspected the buttons. Sandi looked around, examining the wall. Suddenly, she heard a sound. She stilled, paralysed with fear.

'Hey Doctor?'

'Yeah?'

'Should that be ticking?'

'Errr...'

The Doctor stopped peering at the buttons and listened hard. The crushing silence that had been there before had been broken by a faint but clearly audible ticking. His eyes widened.

'OUT OUT OUT!' The Doctor roared, grabbing Sandi's shoulders and hurling her out of the lift. He leapt after her just in time, because as his flailing body crashed down to protect hers, the lift exploded in an orange fireball, engulfing the area where the pair had just been standing. Had they not moved, they would have been roasted, killed instantly. Sandi sobbed as the Doctor curled around her, holding her close to him and stroking her hair.

'Shhh, it's okay now, we're safe. I'm here, I won't let anything hurt you,' the Doctor said softly, comforting his companion. Sandi looked up accusingly at him.

'Oh sure, I'm gonna just trust you with my life because you have a time machine and a light-up screwdriver! It's been one life-threatening situation after another ever since I met you!' Sandi said bitterly and somewhat sarcastically, failing to stop the tears now flooding down her face. The Doctor pulled her close and held her tightly, ignoring the panic-stricken girl's snide comments as she made a vague attempt to punch at his chest.

'I promise you, I won't let them hurt you. I won't let them take you away from me,' the Doctor swore. Sandi clutched a handful of his shirt.

'You can't promise me that, Doctor. You can't stop everyone. You can't stop everything.'

'I won't let them take _you_. I've lost too many fights to give this one up.'

Sandi looked up desperately. The Doctor looked visibly shaken, scared and angry. Rage burned like a cold fire behind his dark eyes. There was something alien about his fury that melted the tense feeling at the base of Sandi's spine. She relaxed against him and let him cradle her, gently stroking her hair and shushing her softly. She closed her eyes. Then the glow reappeared, an intense golden light that encompassed them both, like a protective cocoon sheltering them from the outside world. The Doctor felt a soft breeze on his skin and closed his eyes, wrapping himself like a blanket around Sandi. The light brightened, almost blinding. The Doctor could feel his hearts hammering inside his chest. He hugged Sandi closer.

'I'm here, you don't need to be afraid,' he whispered. The light flickered and died almost instantly. Sandi opened her eyes. The Doctor was still holding her tightly, eyes closed. She reached up and touched his face gently. He opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling softly.

'People will talk, y'know,' Sandi quipped under her breath. The Doctor laughed, climbing to his feet. He helped Sandi up.

'C'mon, we have to find those pods. Something on this ship is trying to stop us and is willing to do it at any cost,' the Doctor said. Sandi nodded seriously and followed the Doctor through a side door near the still-smoking lift. As they exited the bridge, a soft whirring and an angry clicking came from near the burnt elevator.

---------

**There is no question. The child **_**is**_** Shandaiah.**

**Then the child must return. We cannot allow for any more mistakes.**

**But she has formed a bond with the Doctor.**

**We are Zriekas. Bonds are easily broken.**

---------


	5. Chapter 5: The Children of Darkspace

The Tardis entered the stream of the time vortex smoothly as the Doctor raced from scanner to scanner, desperate to pick up the _Utopia_. Sandi stood at the main terminal, taking his directions.

'So tell me, Doctor,' Sandi said casually, flipping a switch at his command. The Doctor peered closely at a readout in his hand.

'Mmmm?'

'How long is it gonna take us to find the _Utopia_?'

'Well, that's the thing, innit?' The Doctor said, scratching his head, jumping over to a tiny, blinking screen and staring at it.

'What'd you mean?'

'Well, _generally_ we'd be scanning just space, which'd take no time at all. But this is a Time Lord ship we're after. We need to be scanning space _and_ time, which is probably going to take just a little bit longer.'

'Fabulous. I'll just go read a book while you do that.'

'Oh no you don't. You stay at those controls until I say otherwise,' the Doctor said firmly, making Sandi feel like she had been told off by a teacher. She slumped glumly over the controls, twiddling her thumbs in a determinedly bored air. After a full minute of silence, the Doctor looked over at her through his glasses.

'I never asked, is there anyone back home who's going to miss you?'

Sandi looked up tiredly, then looked back down at the controls.

'Well, Nicola might wonder why I left the water in the sink and why her front door is in her television.'

The Doctor afforded a small smile and gave a tiny sniff of a laugh, eyes soft.

'No... I meant, anyone you care about. Boyfriend, girlfriend? Any family?'

Sandi laughed deadly and turned around, watching the Doctor scurry across the Tardis' floor to another screen. He looked at her, puzzled.

'What?'

'There's no-one, no more family, no boyfriend and _especially_ not a girlfriend. I don't bat that way. Anyway... I mean, I'm not exactly pretty, am I?'

The Doctor took in her blue penguin pyjamas, dark brown bangs and pale skin partnered with scared blue eyes. He smiled gently.

'You're not hard on the eyes. Trust me, I've seen a helluva lot worse.'

Sandi grinned tiredly.

'Thanks, I think.'

The Doctor looked back at the screen for a moment. Then...

'If you, y'know, want to get changed, there's a room through that panel over there,' he mumbled, gesturing behind him vaguely. Sandi looked down, then blushed.

'Ah, yeah, wandering around time in my pyjamas can't be good for business, can it?'

She exited the main bridge of the Tardis to change. The Doctor kept his concentration on the screen for a moment, before he realised that he was holding his breath. He exhaled slowly and shook his head.

'You're acting like a teenager. Stop it,' he muttered angrily to himself. Over on the main controls, one of the scanner began bleeping quietly. The Doctor sprang over to it and stared at it.

'Found ya,' he said, grinning from ear to ear.

---------

**Arrival in less than one hour, master.**

**Understood.**

**---------**

Sandi wandered the rooms in the back of the Tardis. She was a bit bemused as to how all this managed to fit inside an old police box, but she was too tired to care. She found a tiny room with a camp bed that was dimly lit by the light from the Tardis. Dropping the duffel bag onto the bed, she dug around the bottom. It was her luck bag, silly really, but Sandi was always prepared for the worst. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a waist length white top with long sleeves. It was tough enough to survive the worst life could throw at her but still comfortable enough to wear everyday.

Sandi changed swifty and tucked the bag under the camp bed. She definitely felt a lot better in her clothes rather than running around in her jimjams. She made her way back to the bridge, where she found the Doctor prancing around the main controls like a madman. He grinned wildly at her, his boyish face alight.

'Got it! Right under our very noses! My _God_, I'm good!' The Doctor shouted. Sandi laughed and clapped her hands. The Doctor caught her by the hands and danced her around the controls like an idiot.

'I found it, I found it, I FOUND IT!' The Time Lord chanted, spinning his companion around. Sandi giggled, then tripped, stumbling before crashing into the Doctor and sending the pair down in a heap. The pair burst out laughing and scrambled to their feet.

'So where was it?' Sandi asked, taking up position at the Tardis' main controls as the Doctor skidded to a halt next to her, staring at a small scanner. He grinned wickedly.

'You mean _when_ was it! About a billion years ago. God, I should have realised! The fourth great and bountiful human empire, fantastic! Just after the Daleks were uncloaked in darkspace, the _Utopia_ would have been discovered too. But the Daleks weren't after the _Utopia_ because they didn't know it was there! Ha!'

'Do you wanna run all that by me again?'

The Doctor looked at Sandi seriously, but not sternly.

'Look, before I regenerated the last time, Rose, me and a man named Captain Jack Harkness ended up on the Game Station, which used to be Satellite Five, a news satellite that broadcast to the entire world. But it was also sending another signal, a cloaking signal which was hiding the Dalek ships from radar, sonar and scanner, making them more or less invisible to everyone else.'

'So... we're going back to just before you defeated the Daleks the first time to find the ship in the same place that you discovered the Daleks!' Sandi shouted happily, glad to finally have caught on. The Doctor smiled cheerily and ruffled her short, dark hair.

'That's it! Now you're catching on! Good work! Now, Miss Jenkinson, if you would kindly step aside, I need to set the Tardis' controls and lock in the co-ordinates,' the Doctor said, shimmying past Sandi to the main control panel. As he keyed the information in excitedly, Sandi stepped up beside him and laid a hand on his forearm.

'Doctor... if we go back, then... you can see Rose.'

The Doctor's smile slid from his face. He stopped, then shook his head.

'I can't.'

'You can stop the invasion.'

'I can't. It doesn't work like that.'

'How come?'

'Once Rose crossed the void, she took her history with her. Oh, the Daleks are still dead. But... the Rose fighting the Daleks onboard the Satellite is just a ghost. Just a memory of a glorious fight. Course it's the reason I look like this.'

The Doctor pulled a funny face which made Sandi laugh. He smiled gently at her.

'Thanks for the thought, though. Very sweet.'

'I don't do sweet. You know that. I was being courteous.'

'Well, whatever it was, thank you.'

'You're welcome.'

'Right, grab onto something, here we go...'

The Tardis lurched in the time vortex, spun around and began heading back in time. As Sandi held on tightly to a pillar, she closed her eyes. Suddenly, the glow that had shrouded her earlier on New Earth returned, even brighter this time. The Tardis picked up speed, flying through the vortex like never before. The Doctor, concentrating on the controls, noticed a soft light on the panels that wasn't coming from the Tardis. He spun wildly around, mouth open as he stared at Sandi's luminescent form.

'Sandi! Open your eyes!' The Doctor shouted. Sandi's blue eyes flew open and the glow subsided. The Tardis slowed back to it's natural speed. The Doctor leapt from the controls to Sandi's side, kneeling beside her and checking her eyes.

'What? What's wrong?' Sandi asked suspiciously as the Doctor looked at her head from every angle. He frowned.

'You were glowing. Like a bright, golden... glowing thing.'

'You're mad.'

'I thought so, too, back in the maintenance room. I thought I saw you glow for just a brief moment. But I thought it was just the light playing tricks on my eyes. But I'm certain now... oh, big reaction there.'

Sandi was biting her lip, looking all around the room. The Doctor got up and stepped back, looking at her.

'Want to tell me?'

'Well, it's nothing, but...'

'It might be something, so tell me.'

'When I... that is, when we were... when you opened the Tardis' doors on New Earth and I held your hand, I thought I saw a reflection. It was like a pulse of light, soft and yellow, like a low wattage bedside lamp.'

The Doctor scratched his head.

'I don't like this. I don't like this at all,' he muttered. Sandi looked at him, scared.

'What? Is there something wrong?'

The Doctor licked his lips and looked away.

'Humans don't glow and as far as I know, neither do Time Lords. The last time I saw a human glow, it was Rose and she had the entire time vortex running through her head. Of course, she also had superhuman powers and she continued to glow until I took the power from her.'

'But I'm not glowing now! Look! I'm fine,' Sandi said, holding out both arms as evidence. The Doctor looked at them, then had a brainwave. He knelt before her and wrapped her arms around his neck, then wrapped his own around her waist, pulling her towards him in a close hug. Sandi looked straight up into his intense eyes. He was waiting for something to happen...

Then it did. The golden glow rushed straight up both arms and down her body, illuminating every inch of her and lighting up the Doctor's face. He grinned boyishly.

'Well, that was easy,' he whispered, letting Sandi go. The glow pulsed, then faded. He stood up and walked back to the controls. Sandi leapt to her feet and skidded after him.

'What? Wait! What just happened? How did you do that?'

'You glow when you experience intense emotions or encounter certain situations,' he said calmly, throttling the Tardis back. Sandi scratched her head.

'How do you figure that?'

'Well, the first time you were inside the Tardis, memories that weren't yours were released. That would have been the barrier, broken by your first experience of time travel. Just after we escaped from the chamber, you glowed. The first time we...' the Doctor trailed off. He was going to say held hands, but it was more than that. It was a connection. Sandi nodded.

'So you think that this time I travelled through time, it caused the glow?'

'And the intense emotion you felt when I held you close to me caused the same reaction,' the Doctor said, turning away to hide the blush and slightly embarrised grin on his face. Sandi frowned.

'I... don't remember feeling any different when you hugged me,' she said, thinking immediately that just maybe she was lying to herself. The Doctor shrugged.

'Maybe it was subconscious. Maybe whatever is hanging out in your brain reacted to my touch.'

'It could be that,' Sandi said squeakily. The Doctor laughed, turned back and ruffled her hair affectionately.

'It's going to be okay. After all, you're not dead yet and believe me, if you were housing all of time and space in that teeny tiny brain of yours, you would be.'

Sandi slapped his arm playfully hard, causing him to jump and rub the spot where she had hit him.

'Hey now, you didn't need to do that!'

'I'm just keeping you grounded, Time Lord. Don't get too big for your converse!'

The laughter from the Tardis echoed out into space and was absorbed by the vacuum as the ship flew on.

---------

**Thirty minutes until arrival.**

**Position, apprentice.**

**Yes Master.**

---------

'And there she is,' the Doctor breathed, looking at a screen. He motioned behind him to Sandi, who was back on the floor and still fiddling with her laptop. She looked up, the Doctor's borrowed sonic screwdriver in hand.

'What?'

'Take a look at this, will ya? Just look at that!'

Sandi picked her way through the many strewn parts of the laptop on the floor and scrambled up next to her new friend. She squinted at the screen.

'What am I looking at?' Sandi asked, as the Doctor peered at the watch on his wrist.

'Any second now...' he said. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a thousand ships popped into existence. Sandi gasped as the Doctor laughed and clapped.

'Always my favourite bit. Now, if we just pan around one hundred and eighty degrees...'

'Doctor, won't those Daleks notice the Tardis?' Sandi asked gingerly. The Doctor shook his head.

'We're still in the time vortex. Then there's the added bonus that they're after the me on the satellite rather than the me that's here now... ah, here we are!'

The image flashed up on screen and Sandi stared blankly at it. A large asteroid floated alone in the vacuum of space, inconspicuous and isolated. The Doctor clapped.

'A working chameleon circuit _and_ cloaking device, oh, _very_ good!'

'Er, Doctor?'

'What?'

'It's a rock.'

'Ah, it only _looks_ like a rock.'

'No, it is definitely a big, floating... rock'

'Maybe now, but...' the Doctor spun around crazily and punched at the controls.

'In three, two, one... ta da!'

The image of the asteroid faded away. In its place, a rounded pale orb flickered into view. Sandi leaned forward.

'What is _that_?!? Can the Daleks actually _see_ that?'

The Doctor shook his head, a crooked grin on his face.

'In all technicalities, we're the only ones who can see it. To the Daleks, its still just a lump of rock. They aren't operating at this wavelength. Nope, those thick thickety clunkers won't have a clue in blue blazes until its too late.'

'Well, that's comforting. So... how does one get on board this ship?'

'Ah. Y'see, if it was any other ship, I'd be able to land the Tardis inside it. But this _is_ a Time Lord ship. Looks like we might just have to link up.'

Sandi clapped and rubbed her hands.

'Oh goody! I've never linked up to a spaceship before!'

'Oy, don't get too excited, or I'll hook you up to the Tardis and use you to power the lights!'

'Hey! That's not very nice!'

The Doctor laughed and patted her back as the Tardis slipped out of the time vortex and into normal space.

'I never said I was nice. Oh, here we go!'

The Tardis hovered close to the pale orb. It wasn't large, maybe ten feet by fifteen. The Doctor's Tardis floated close to the orb, causing a change in the side of the ship. The faint outline of a door appeared in the side of the other ship. Suddenly, it appeared that the doors of the Tardis had melted into the side door of the the other ship. The Doctor clapped his hands.

'Oh yes, _definitely_ a Time Lord ship! Full integration with a Tardis, compatible technology and use of Chameleon circuits as _well_ as hijacking a cloaking signal. Brilliant!'

The Doctor skipped over to the Tardis' doors and threw them open grandly. Sandi peeped over his shoulder. She gasped as the Doctor grinned wickedly.

'Still don't want to go first?'

---------

**They have arrived.**

**Now we move. The child has returned.**

**And the Doctor?**

**Kill him.**

---------

Sandi stepped out of the Tardis and into a brilliantly lit white corridor. The Doctor stepped up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

'Well, this is different! It's been, oooh, maybe...' the Doctor scratched his head, trying to remember. Sandi cocked her head.

'Yes? How long?'

'Oh, around fifty years since I've been on one of these ships.'

'One of _these_ ships?'

'A Time Lord Sanctuary ship. It's designed to avoid all detection at any cost, including staying enveloped in the time vortex without moving through time.'

'Gee. You'd think that the Daleks would have done _anything _to get their... well, they don't actually have _hands_ as such, but you get what I mean.'

The Doctor moved forward, sonic screwdriver ahead of him. A flash of neon blue told him everything he needed to know. He tucked the screwdriver away inside his suit jacket.

'Nothing to worry about. All safe. On we go.'

The duo moved silently down the corridor, which appeared to be vast in length. Sandi got the distinct impression that as far as Time Lord ships went, they were _all _bigger on the inside than on the outside. As far as she was concerned, this ship was _huge_. The corridor alone would have dwarfed the Tardis' interior. The Doctor stopped in front of the first door they approached. A flash of blue and the door slid open. Sandi gaped. She knew what she was looking at. The Doctor stepped through the doorway, taking Sandi's hand protectively and leading her behind him.

The door opened into a large room which was obviously the bridge of the ship. Computer screens blinked feebly and faintly at the Doctor and Sandi as they moved silently past. It was deserted and for good reason. Nearly every screen and control panel was smashed beyond repair. Sandi grabbed the Doctor's arm and clung close to him. The Doctor stopped and put an arm around her. Sandi stared around, shaking.

'The ship... all the computers... it's all been destroyed.'

'Obviously the work of the Zriekas. Come on, we need to keep moving,' the Doctor said gravely as they passed the captain's chair. Sandi shuddered. The room was cold and forbidding, like the ghosts of those who had been onboard still walked there. They entered a small lift on the far side of the trashed room and the Doctor inspected the buttons. Sandi looked around, examining the wall. Suddenly, she heard a sound. She stilled, paralysed with fear.

'Hey Doctor?'

'Yeah?'

'Should that be ticking?'

'Errr...'

The Doctor stopped peering at the buttons and listened hard. The crushing silence that had been there before had been broken by a faint but clearly audible ticking. His eyes widened.

'OUT OUT OUT!' The Doctor roared, grabbing Sandi's shoulders and hurling her out of the lift. He leapt after her just in time, because as his flailing body crashed down to protect hers, the lift exploded in an orange fireball, engulfing the area where the pair had just been standing. Had they not moved, they would have been roasted, killed instantly. Sandi sobbed as the Doctor curled around her, holding her close to him and stroking her hair.

'Shhh, it's okay now, we're safe. I'm here, I won't let anything hurt you,' the Doctor said softly, comforting his companion. Sandi looked up accusingly at him.

'Oh sure, I'm gonna just trust you with my life because you have a time machine and a light-up screwdriver! It's been one life-threatening situation after another ever since I met you!' Sandi said bitterly and somewhat sarcastically, failing to stop the tears now flooding down her face. The Doctor pulled her close and held her tightly, ignoring the panic-stricken girl's snide comments as she made a vague attempt to punch at his chest.

'I promise you, I won't let them hurt you. I won't let them take you away from me,' the Doctor swore. Sandi clutched a handful of his shirt.

'You can't promise me that, Doctor. You can't stop everyone. You can't stop everything.'

'I won't let them take _you_. I've lost too many fights to give this one up.'

Sandi looked up desperately. The Doctor looked visibly shaken, scared and angry. Rage burned like a cold fire behind his dark eyes. There was something alien about his fury that melted the tense feeling at the base of Sandi's spine. She relaxed against him and let him cradle her, gently stroking her hair and shushing her softly. She closed her eyes. Then the glow reappeared, an intense golden light that encompassed them both, like a protective cocoon sheltering them from the outside world. The Doctor felt a soft breeze on his skin and closed his eyes, wrapping himself like a blanket around Sandi. The light brightened, almost blinding. The Doctor could feel his hearts hammering inside his chest. He hugged Sandi closer.

'I'm here, you don't need to be afraid,' he whispered. The light flickered and died almost instantly. Sandi opened her eyes. The Doctor was still holding her tightly, eyes closed. She reached up and touched his face gently. He opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling softly.

'People will talk, y'know,' Sandi quipped under her breath. The Doctor laughed, climbing to his feet. He helped Sandi up.

'C'mon, we have to find those pods. Something on this ship is trying to stop us and is willing to do it at any cost,' the Doctor said. Sandi nodded seriously and followed the Doctor through a side door near the still-smoking lift. As they exited the bridge, a soft whirring and an angry clicking came from near the burnt elevator.

---------

**There is no question. The child **_**is**_** Shandaiah.**

**Then the child must return. We cannot allow for any more mistakes.**

**But she has formed a bond with the Doctor.**

**We are Zriekas. Bonds are easily broken.**

---------


	6. Chapter 6: The Last of the Time Lords

The Doctor crept nervously down the dark hall that the service door had opened on. It wasn't so much that they were on a deserted ghost ship or that something had just tried to kill him. He was used to that. What he was so nervous about was the relationship that seemed to be unfolding in front of his eyes. The growing closeness between Sandi and himself. The way that his hearts skittered when he felt her small hand in his. The way he had felt when he was wrapped around her, protecting her. It felt... _right_, almost as if they were meant to be that way. The Doctor shook his head. Whatever was inside Sandi's head was obviously also slightly empathic and was manipulating his feelings. The strong connection between the two of them was basic Time Lord telepathy. Nothing more.

Inside Sandi's own head, a whirlwind of questions was doing an extremely accomplished job of tearing up any reasonable thought that dared to cross her mind. The Doctor; this strange, handsome time traveller was willing to risk his own life to save hers. He wanted to protect her. But there was something in the way that he looked at her now and then that made her think that perhaps it wasn't just his own moral chivalry that led him to guard her as such. Sandi shivered. No, it wasn't that. Obviously, the Doctor was interested in getting the Time Lord soul out of her and restored to it's own body. Then he would have no more use for her. He might not even take her home...

Sandi padded in the Doctor's footsteps, forcing the terrible feeling of helplessness out of her mind.

Wires hung like plastic spaghetti from the ceiling, sparking feebily as the pair crossed beneath them. The light from the bridge had faded long ago and it was almost total darkness as the Doctor moved cat-like further on. His right hand brushed a small control panel which bleeped to life. The Doctor knelt beside it, examining it closely. Thirty seconds and some quick screwdriver reflexes later, a door sprang open beside it. The Doctor rubbed his hands gleefully.

'Now we're getting somewhere,' he muttered.

The door opened onto a room much like the bridge, but smaller. It was circular, white with three steps leading down into the centre of the room where a large pillar reached from the ground all the way to the ceiling. The control panels were similarly smashed to those on the bridge, but unlike the main command centre, the room seemed to focus in the centre. The Doctor leapt down the stairs and ran over to the pillar, as Sandi moved around the outside, examining the computers.

'I... _know_ this technology,' Sandi said in a low, amazed whisper to herself. She strained to look over at the Doctor, who was peering curiously at the pillar with his glasses on. Sandi focussed her attention back on the computers. She reached a terminal that looked semi-functional despite the battering it had received. A few switches flicked and a button press later, neon lights flickered on in the room, making the Doctor and Sandi leap back in surprise. Sandi grinned, her face red.

'Sorry,' she said meekly. The Doctor rolled his eyes and shook his head. He investigated the side of the pillar furtherest from Sandi, sonic screwdriver working overtime. He eventually gave up.

'It's no use. It's locked with a deadlock seal and I can't get in...' the Doctor began, but stopped as his eyes fell upon Sandi. His companion was lighting up various panels of controls, bringing the entire room back to life.

'The equipment is only _physically_ damaged, the memory and general operational procedures are still running,' Sandi yelled over her shoulder as the machines hummed to life. The Doctor scratched his head, lost for words. A crooked grin spread across his face.

'You really are something, aren't you?' The Doctor whispered, eyes alight. Sandi didn't hear him properly, but she looked around at her new friend and grinned at him.

'Not bad for a girl who plays with ancient relics, eh?'

Without warning, the pillar in the centre of the room gave a sharp hiss, like gas decompressing. The Doctor leapt back as the white outer casing slid down into the floor to reveal six status pods. As soon as they were unveiled, the pods slid forward slightly and a computer panel in the side of each bleeped to life. The Doctor stared, wide-eyed as Sandi bounded over the steps and down beside him. She skidded to a halt and stared up at the pods in amazement.

'Well, I think we just found the last Time Lords,' she whispered in awe. The Doctor closed his mouth.

'I think you're right,' he replied.

---------

**She has entered the chamber.**

**We move now.**

---------

The Doctor examined the closest pod. It was at least seven feet high and looked much like an opening flower bud, its inner primary casing constructed from what looked like frosted glass. A secondary casing reached approximately halfway up the pod, wrapping around like petals. On the right hand side of the secondary casing, the small computer panel with a tiny screen flickered and beeped at various intervals. There was a thin metal band that circled the base of the pod above the base that hissed quietly on occasion. The base was composed of a dense, heavy, metal with a bronze plate set into the front. The Doctor knelt before it and touched the plate. The word TARRANT was engraved into it. As soon as the Doctor's fingers touched the name, the frosted glass began to clear slightly. The blurred outline of what looked like a tall, handsome young man with dark, wavy hair cut to his ear appeared. Sandi gasped in shock and stumbled backwards. The Doctor rose to his feet and whirled around to face his companion.

Sandi was pallid, all colour drained from her face. She raised a hand shakily and pointed at the boy in the pod. The Doctor frowned at her.

'What is it?'

Sandi sucked in a sharp breath.

'I know him. I know who he is. I've seen him... met him before.'

'Who is he?'

Sandi gulped, unsure of how to tell him what she knew to be true. She sighed and decided that the honest fact would be the best for both of them. She looked the Doctor squarely in the eye.

'That boy in the pod is Tarrant.'

'I gathered that. Generally because his name was on the base of his pod.'

'No, you don't understand. Tarrant... he's my brother.'

The Doctor froze. His eyes were pleading with her to tell him it wasn't true.

'You told... you said that there was no-one. No more family,' he said shakily. Sandi clutched at her head, shaking.

'My... my family. Doctor, I couldn't remember my family. But I know... I remember. Tarrant, he's my brother. He almost made it, too.'

'To where? Made it to where? Sandi, tell me where!'

'To... our TARDIS,' she wheezed. The Doctor's eyes widened as Sandi's eyes rolled back in her head and she crashed to the ground. As soon as she hit the floor, a blinding light surrounded her body. The Doctor shielded his eyes, reaching into his pocket for his glasses. He fumbled for a moment, then managed to shove them against his face. But the moment he could see, the light faded. Sandi was gone.

The Doctor spun wildly, staring around, desperately seeking his companion. But she had gone. Disappeared. Here he was, completely alone on a deserted ship with an angry alien race trying to annihilate him. He shrugged, clutching his sonic screwdriver. Stranger things had happened.

'I'll find you,' he whispered aloud to Sandi.

'Whatever it takes, I'll find you.'

---------

Sandi's head was spinning so badly that she felt extremely nauseous. Her stomach heaved as her eyes flickered open tentatively. As her blurred vision started to slide into focus, she gazed around the room she was in. The first few seconds had told her that she wasn't with the Doctor any more. That in itself was enough to scare the pants off her. As the room around her stopped spinning, Sandi gaped at what she saw. It was definitely the inside of a TARDIS, only... she wasn't sure which one.

Climbing shakily to her feet, Sandi looked around. The central navigational computers were the same as the Doctor's, but the layout was... different. Almost as if it were a different breed of TARDIS. Further study showed that the interior of this TARDIS was far more complex and much grander than the Doctor's ship. The walls were a soft pink and the floor was carpeted. The controls looked brand new and hardly touched. Sandi wobbled over to them, brushing her hand against the consoles.

'Where am I?' Sandi asked aloud to herself. She leapt a foot in the air when someone answered her.

_You are onboard my TARDIS, Sandi. Welcome._

Sandi spun in a wild circle. On the far side of the room was a pod, much like those she had examined with the Doctor. She sprinted over and skidded to a halt. Inside the status pod was a young woman who looked much but not quite like Sandi. Her hair was longer and was a jet black. Her skin was paler and she was slightly thinner. Her perfect cupid bow mouth was turned down in slumber. Sandi pressed a hand against the glass, a feeling of understanding washing through her. She didn't even have to read the bronze plaque on the base.

'Shandaiah,' she whispered. The voice came again.

_Yes. I brought you here because you are in grave danger._

'But what about the Doctor? I can't just leave him!'

_You are the only one who can save him, which is why you are here. I have been with you, Sandi. All along. Throughout your entire life, I have done my best to help you and now you must help me. I am still weak and cannot be moved from my pod yet._

'I don't understand. What's been happening? I...' Sandi trailed off, gripping her head as a wave of pain wracked her skull. Shandaiah's voice floated through her subconscious.

_You need to know from the beginning, when the Face of Boe rescued us and left us here. When the Zriekas arrived on the _Utopia_, we children of darkspace fled. Tigrus, Tarrant and Xylon fought back while Tangala, Aerynth and I ran for the pods. Our pods are designed to jettison the moment non-Gallifreyan entities enter the room. Tigrus and Xylon fell to the hoards while Tarrant fought them back at the doors of the regeneration chamber. Tigrus, you must know, is my cousin and Xylon was my nephew. Aerynth was married to my brother, Tarrant. Xylon was her son. Tangala was my close friend._

'_Your_ brother? I thought he was my brother?'

_Apologies, that was my influence. I haven't seen my brother in many years and I lost control. I took full hold, which caused your pain. But I digress. Let me continue with my story._

Sandi sat cross-legged before the pod.

'Go on.'

_I escaped to my TARDIS as soon as I heard my brother fall. Tangala and Aerynth were already inside their escape pods._

'But, why do you have a TARDIS while the others only have pods?'

_Surely you must have noticed the extremity of my powers? A mere pod could not take me far enough from harm. The pod you see here is a simple status pod, merely caring for my broken physical form._

'So how did you escape? Why was the ship all banged up when the Doctor and I arrived?'

_The Zriekas are an intelligent race, much more so than their allies, the Daleks. They think quicker and act accordingly. They had an idea that as soon as they breached the room, the pods would jettison._

'Then why didn't they jettison when I walked in?'

_I was occupying your mind. The sensors would have recognised such and prevented jettison. Or perhaps the equipment is damaged so greatly that it didn't register that you were not actually Gallifreyan._

'I love theories. Explanations that explain nothing. Continue.'

_So upon entering the room, they smashed the equipment that we required. It was a stroke of luck, however, that they were unable to smash open the pods. It was the only way that Aerynth and Tangala survived._

'But Tarrant? Xylon? Tigrus? The Doctor and I saw them! They're in their pods. They're fine!'

A short pause intervened. Sandi had a terrible thought that Shandaiah had gone, but then...

_That wasn't I. When I left this ship, Xylon and Tigrus were fallen on the bridge and Tarrant lay defeated in the doorway to the regeneration chamber. My only guess is that they regenerated and were returned to status by the Face of Boe._

'Hmmm, he did say that he found them dead. But perhaps they were regenerating,' Sandi reasoned.

_There is more. When I escaped to the TARDIS, I knew if I were to leave in it, the Zriekas would track me across the galaxy relentlessly. So I returned to the status pod you see before you and left my body. Existing as mere consciousness, I fled across the stars to Earth, a planet I had heard of from council members on Gallifrey. They said it was somewhat a second home for another Time Lord, an exile who defended both planets relentlessly. A man named The Doctor._

Sandi felt her chest swell with pride to hear her friend described as such. A bright grin crossed her face. The voice chuckled.

_I know you like him. I've seen your mind, your heart. You like him. He's strange to you, a weird and somewhat wacky alien who makes no sense whatsoever, but there is something about him that reminds you so much of yourself, like he really does understand you. This is part of the reason why I brought you here. A love so strong is a powerful weapon against injustice._

Sandi blushed, chewing her bottom lip. She cleared her throat.

'How can I help him? I'm just a useless human, aren't I?'

_You are no more useless than I am. But there is a decision to be made. It is a terrible one, but it has to be._

Sandi felt her stomach drop in a nasty way. The colour drained from her face.

'What do you mean, a terrible decision? I thought we were going to help the Doctor!'

_And it is this decision which will save his life. You see, I never finished my story. When I arrived on Earth, I needed a corporeal form. So I chose the body of a child who was almost dead, but whom I knew was much like myself. I saved the child from death and spent her life with her. That child was you. But now I have returned, I have my own body to use. Once I leave your body and return to my own, your body will begin to break down almost immediately. You will die, but I can save the Doctor and destroy the Zriekas. Or I will remain with you and we can die together, trying to save the Doctor. Do not misunderstand my intention, for I love the Doctor as well as you do. But this decision must be made. The Zriekas are already on board and have tried to kill him once. They draw closer as we speak. It is time, Sandi. You must choose._

The words hung in the air like an ominous blanket as Sandi registered the meaning of it all. It was simple; either she died and the Doctor lived, or she lived for a while and they both might survive. Maybe. Possibly. She stared at the occupied pod, leaping to her feet.

'Why can't you make this decision?'

_I have to be released willingly, the same way I was accepted. Your childish mind accepted my protection when you were young, in order to survive. You must make the decision to let me leave._

'If I choose to let you go, how long will I live?'

_It is difficult to say. Your brain will deteriorate rapidly, I fear. It has taken a great deal of power to sustain it thus far. The ancient, regenerative power of the Time Lords allowed me to regenerate your body in the form it was, since it was not my own form._

'There is one more question I have. While we were travelling here, I glowed. The Doctor said that the last time he saw anyone glow, it was Rose and she held the entire time vortex inside her head. Why was I glowing?'

_I would imagine it had something to do with housing the source of all time inside your head._

Sandi swallowed, forcing the lump from her throat. Her mouth was dry now and she was shaking considerably. She stared helplessly at the stationary form.

'I... care about him. I don't want him to die.'

_Neither do I_.

'But I don't want to die either!'

_That is a decision only you can make. Live and let the Doctor die, or die and save his life. Your choice._

Sandi closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. This was the only way to save the Doctor.

'Do what you need to, then,' she whispered. She began to glow, but the glow was soft and radiant, as if her soul was leaving her body. The light moved across to the pod and sank through the glass, illuminating the other girl's body. As Shandaiah's golden, glowing eyes flickered open before her and the world turned black, Sandi smiled tiredly.

'Tell him... tell him...' she gasped, unable to finish, crashing to the floor with an almighty thud. The pod hissed open and Shandaiah stepped out. A radiant glow surrounded her as she swept across the floor, dressed in a long, white and flowing dress. She knelt before Sandi fallen form.

'If I have anything to do with it, you'll be telling him yourself,' she swore. As she stood, a gilded mist rose from Sandi's body and followed her. A loud noise came from outside the TARDIS. Shandaiah's eyes glowed angrily like firey coals. The doors exploded open.

---------

The Doctor crept down another empty corridor, willing the definite chill in his spine to go away. After thoroughly searching the pod chamber, he was convinced that Sandi was no longer in the room. The pods were all deadlock sealed, rendering it impossible to break into them. _Right, so the plan is... find Sandi and get the hell off this ship, go back to Earth and hide_, he thought, peering around a corner surreptitiously. The next hall was empty. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. The hand clutching the sonic screwdriver was shaking involuntarily. He slumped against the wall and rubbed his face. This was stupid, completely and utterly stupid. Idiotic. Where would he hide? The Zriekas had tracked Sandi across time and space. They could do the same to him. There was only one option: fight.

The Doctor wriggled around the corner and crawled along the hall. Ahead of him, he could see another door, the light on the other side shining through the cracks. Fast running out of places to run, the Doctor scrambled to the entrance. A few moments of sonic humming and the door slid open smoothly. He hurried inside and the door shut behind him. It appeared to be a medical bay, complete with beds, charts, scanners and medical equipment. The Doctor tucked his sonic screwdriver away and clapped his hands, rubbing them with glee.

'The Doctor is in,' he said cheerfully. He examined the equipment closely, marvelling at the familiarity of the technology from his home planet. Then he heard it. A faint noise that disturbed him. The same noise he had heard in the lift on the bridge. He didn't turn around, didn't dare move. He remained absolutely still.

'So you found me,' he said gravely. The ticking became a whir. Then a voice, metallic and thin wheezed from behind him.

**You will tell us where the child is.**

The Doctor raised his hands in surrender, turning slowly to face the enemy. There, standing in the doorway, were three Zriekas. The Doctor's mouth went dry. His arms felt numb and fear riccocheted around his body. He'd never seen anything like them before.

The Zriekas were tall, humanoid creatures, save for the fact that their skin was a mottled grey-cream and that many body parts were visibly replaced with cyborg implants, which clicked and whirred, giving the impression that they were somewhat clockwork. The right hand of each being was encased in metal, fashioned into a crude ion cannon which sat glowing at the Zriekas' sides as they studied him, one eye replaced with a scanner.

**Speak, organic. Where is the child?**

'By child, you mean Sandi and by Sandi you mean Shandaiah?' The Doctor asked casually, looking far more comfortable than he felt. He afforded the Zriekas a lop-sided grin.

'I haven't the foggiest. I was looking for them when you lot barged in.'

**You brought the child here. You will tell us where she is.**

'Look, I just told you, I came here with Sandi, yes, but she disappeared in the pod room! There was this... bright light, then poof! All gone!' The Doctor said, folding his arms decisively. The Zriekas appeared to be confused, whirring bemusedly at each other for a bit. The Doctor scratched his head thoughtfully as the trio decided what to do. Finally, one stepped forward, obviously the leader of the group.

**We will take you to the Master, organic. Perhaps you will speak then. For if you fear not for your own life, then you should fear for the child's.**

The other two Zriekas swept forward, surprisingly agile considering the amount of hardware they carried around. They grasped an arm each and dragged the Time Lord from the room. The Doctor didn't struggle. The guards followed a new path from the bay, down corridors the Doctor hadn't explored. Eventually, they reached the heart of the ship; a dark, dank place where the only light visible effused from the ship's interior walls. The Zriekas yanked a stumbling Doctor in to a large room, larger than any of the chambers he had previously visited. One guess told him that this was engineering; the area of the ship that kept everything running. But where there should have been myriads of computer screens, equipment and devices, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a scrap remained of the central computers that kept the ship alive. The room dipped in the centre like the pod room, but there were no pods here. Just empty space.

The Doctor was forced roughly into the centre of the room, sending him tumbling down the stairs. He sprained his ankle, catching his sneaker on the last step. He crashed to the floor, wincing in pain and clutching at his ankle. The Zriekas that had hauled him in stepped back. The leader of the squadron stepped forward.

**Master, we have brought the Doctor.**

The air in front of the Doctor wavered, like it was being super-heated on a summer's day. A form slid into focus. The Doctor struggled to concentrate through the pain as a vaguely humanoid form came into view. The being hissed and whirred menacingly.

**Doctor. We meet at last.**

The Doctor stared at the creature. It was somewhat taller and more heavily set. Both eyes were completely removed, replaced by a thin metal band that acted as a scanner. Its skin appeared more splotchy than its counterparts, but its texture was that of scales rather than skin. Both hands were missing, one replaced by the customary ion cannon, the other substituted with a claw-like contraption. The Doctor felt his blood run cold as his heartrates increased with fear.

'You... you must be the leader of the Zriekas,' he gasped. The figure inclined it's head slightly.

**I am the Master, yes. You, Time Lord. You are the eldest of your race. Supposedly the last of a race of overseers, destroyed by their inability to act in time to save themselves from the Daleks. You never knew of the Children of Darkspace, did you?**

'No, I didn't.'

**As with all cultures, every individual has secrets. Your council hid the children in order to ensure the Time Lords future. They did not reckon with your ability to survive.**

'No, they didn't,' the Doctor replied, gritting his teeth half in anger, half in pain. The Zrieka nodded.

**Then you know nothing of the child's whereabouts?**

'Look, I've just told your dim-witted lackeys here that Sandi disappeared just after we arrived in the pod room! But still, _no-one_ seems to be listening to me,' the Time Lord sighed heavily, throwing his hands up in desparation. A wave of pain promptly wracked his leg and the Doctor dropped back down to grab at his ankle. He squinted at the leader.

'What is it that you want with her, anyway? I know you were the allies of the Daleks, but they were destroyed! Look out of the window! Right now! At this very moment, Rose Tyler is on Satellite Five, the time vortex running through her head and tearing the Daleks atom from atom!'

**She has only the time vortex in her head. She is nothing, a mere insignificance to us. We **_**were**_** the Dalek's allies, before we learned of the child and her power. We seek the source.**

The Doctor stared blankly at the Master, expecting an elaboration. None came. He sighed, waving a hand.

'Go on, tell me, I know you're dying to. The source of what?'

**The source of all time in the universe** was the curt reply, as if he should have known the answer all along. The Doctor frowned.

'Time doesn't have a source, it just _is_! If there _were_ a source, the Time Lords would have known! I would have known!'

**They did, as did you. Queen Shandaiah in your legend. Mother of the race of Time Lords. Able to rebuild the lost empire. Only a primitive mind would assume that the child would grow to be the mother of Time Lord children. She is the beginning, the end, the alpha and omega. She is where time begins and where time ends. The source can harness time, bend it and use it to her will, be it as a weapon or tool of salvation. All that would be necessary for her would be a temporal shift and a time loop large enough to trap every Dalek inside. Once there, she could simply age them with borrowed time, turning them to dust long before their own time was up.**

The Doctor stared, open-mouthed. The old legend had been a little vague on the details about exactly _how_ Shandaiah was supposed to resurrect the race of Time Lords, but he had always assumed that she would escape the Time War or that she would indeed mother the new Time Lords. Never had he thought that the Queen would possess the power to control time outright, let alone being the source of all time in the universe. He glared at the Master, attempting to look fierce.

'So, you want to utilise her power? Take her hostage and control her powers? What makes you think that she wouldn't turn on you? Destroy you?'

**We do not plan for her to remain alive. We plan to kill her and take her power as our own. Psychograft her gifts into the minds of every Zrieka alive.**

'How? Do you plan on downloading her like share files? Are you the collective mind?'

**Zriekas are individuals. We have no collective. We learn and grow through imagination, unlike the Daleks. Each Zrieka will undergo a shared psychograft, splitting the child's consciousness between millions of beings. From one individual, many will benefit. The Zrekian Empire will expand and dominate after the destruction of the Time Lords.**

The Doctor struggled to his feet, ignoring the dull throb in his ankle. He threw his shoulders back, lifted his chin, jutted his jaw and stared defiantely into the cold eyes of his captors.

'So... now I know. Right, time to run!'

The Doctor bolted for the door. The Zriekan guards that lolled idly there were stunned as he dashed past, shoving them aside. He tore back down the corridors, past the medical bay, in the direction of the pod room. His only chance of escape lay in getting back to the TARDIS. As he ran, the Doctor thought desperately of Sandi. He had no idea where she was or how he could get to her. He could only leave her there; maybe to die, maybe to escape. He skidded to a stop. That was unacceptable. He couldn't leave Sandi if she was on the ship. The Doctor made a quick decision and ran left, away from the corridor that led to the TARDIS. From the loud, pounding behind, he surmised that the Zriekas were close.

The pounding grew louder as the Doctor crashed through another door, which opened into a small cleaning equipment storeroom, at which point he promptly fell face-first to the floor. He slammed the door shut behind him, crawling away to hide behind the equipment as the footsteps drew closer. The heavy steps slowed outside the door, stopping for a moment. The Doctor tried valiantly to slow his breathing, but the pain in his leg was like fire now and adrenaline was coursing through his veins. His breath was ragged as silence fell and the Zriekas idled by the door. _They know I'm here_, he thought in despair. The Doctor closed his eyes and awaited the entry of the cyborgs. But they never came. The Doctor heard the echo of footsteps leading away from the storeroom. He breathed a sigh of relief. Opening the door a tiny bit, the Doctor peered outside. The corridor appeared empty. There was no sign of the Zriekas or their terrifying master. He slid from the room and crept along the corridor after the retreating unit. When the coast was clear, the Doctor headed back in the direction of the pod room, determined to find Sandi.

---------

A lone guard stood outside the room, picking at the healing scabs around his ion cannon. Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the room. The Zrieka blinked confusedly and squinted through the dust. It gasped.

**You.**

In an instant, the Zrieka began to rapidly age. Within a minute, it was nothing but a pile of dust on the floor. Shandaiah stepped cleanly over it.

'Yes,' she said curtly, a hand on the doorway as she half-turned to acknowledge her victim.

'Me.'

---------

Sandi blinked tiredly. Suddenly, breathing was a lot harder than she thought. The room was fuzzy, sliding in and out of focus. She clawed her way towards the door, knowing it was futile, considering the pounding headache being her indication that her brain was collapsing. All options covered, it wasn't the best way to die. Sandi's eyes flickered again. Maybe it would have been better if Shandaiah had never saved her. Then a fragment of a thought crossed her mind. The Doctor. She smiled tiredly as a warmth started in her chest and moved out through her fast-cooling limbs. She hadn't meant to leave him, but at least Shandaiah had promised to save him and it wasn't like she couldn't keep an eye on her. Although human, Sandi had her gifts. She closed her eyes again and lay still. Her breathing slowed and stopped. Silence enveloped her dying form as the doors banged shut. She was alone now.

---------

The Doctor thundered down the last corridor towards the pod room, determined to recommence his examination of the status pods. He clattered into the room unceremoniously. Five of the pods were perfectly fine, just as the Doctor left them. But the sixth was open. The Doctor strode over, curious, but trod in something. He bent down. A pile of fine dust lay on the floor. As he looked up, the pod slammed shut. The Doctor sprang to his feet and raced over, but it was too late. Try as he might, it was impossible to open. He stared at it. It was different to the other five, almost imperceptively, but different. He looked down at the name plaque.

SHANDAIAH.

The Doctor's eyes widened. He sprinted from the room, heading back towards the bridge. As he ran, he hoped that he wasn't too late.

---------

The master had relocated to the bridge in an effort to track the Doctor's movements around the ship. So far, all his guards and crew had demonstrated was the fact that Time Lord technology was infinitely superior and far harder to use than any other race's technology in the galaxy. The Zriekas had mastered them all, but Time Lords were something else.

**Master, we have located the Doctor**, said a lieutenant on his left. The master shuffled ungainly over, peering at the screen.

**It appears he is heading towards us.**

**Continue to track him. Let us wait for the prey instead of expending energy and hunting him.**

**What of our primary target, the child?**

**The Doctor is our new target. He is far more dangerous than we reckoned.**

**Orders, Master?**

**Destroy the Doctor. Then find the child.**


	7. Chapter 7: A Sacrifice for Love

The Doctor followed the path back to bridge. Three corridors away, he became suspicious. There were no guards or Zriekan crew anywhere, which made him decidely nervous. They knew he was coming, but there was no other option. He _had_ to get back to the bridge. If Sandi had found Shandaiah, then that was where she would most likely be heading. If she wasn't in Engineering or the Pod Room, she would probably be planning to take back the ship and pilot it somewhere safe. The Doctor stopped running and began walking. He needed time to formulate a plan, but unfortunately, if he didn't think of one soon, there wouldn't be _any_ time whatsoever.

The Doctor approached the door that led to the bridge on soft, quiet feet. He waited outside. The distinctive soft clicking and whirring partnered with the thin metallic voices confirmed the Doctor's worst fears. The Zriekas were on the bridge. He breathed out a long, soft breath as he slid down the wall, deciding on his next step.

'What to do, what to do, what to do...' The Doctor murmured to himself. It was most unlike him to not have formulated a plan already, but the odds were severely stacked against him. He still had no idea where Sandi was or even if she was still alive. The Zriekas were already on the bridge, which meant that there was a slim, but highly unlikely chance that they now had full control of the ship. Then again, even if they didn't, if he went parading in there like a madman with, as Sandi had bluntly put it, a light-up screwdriver, he would be forced to reactivate the main transport controls even to escape the Zriekas, which would give them full access to Time Lord technology.

Then there was Shandaiah.

The Doctor was in two minds over the so-called source of time. The truth of the matter was that if she was his ally, then that would save a lot of hassle. If, in fact, she didn't like the Time Lords at _all_, then he'd have two problems to deal with. Personally, he'd rather deal with Zriekas, he thought desperately. The Doctor peered around the doorframe. The tall cyborgs inside didn't seem to be paying much attention whatsoever. He breathed deeply again, wishing that there was another option. But there didn't seem to be.

The Doctor stood up, walked onto the bridge and smiled.

---------

_Sandi, I will find him. I will save him. Trust in me as I have in you for so long_.

Shandaiah felt the disturbance in time. It rippled like a cool breeze over her skin as she saw what was to happen. Her eyes narrowed. Anger exploded through her.

'No-one steals _my_ Doctor!' The Source roared.

Behind her, the time vortex split open and screamed.

---------

The Doctor was forced to his knees, hands bound behind his back. One of the guards had his sonic screwdriver. The Master strolled over casually.

**I trust you didn't make it far, Doctor? After all, your precious friend is still aboard, I believe.**

The Doctor shuddered as the word _friend_ was spat out like a bitter pill. He forced a smile.

'Yep, that's why I'm still here. I'm a great believer in friendship, love... all those lovely, wonderful things! Quite useful under the proper application.'

**So the Cybermen discovered when your friends helped you destroy them.**

'Nothing wrong with a little demonstration.'

**Were you planning on demonstrating to us?**

'Well, yeah, that was the plan, wasn't it? But after Sandi disappeared, it all went bottomly-up, didn't it? So here I am, with my fingers crossed that you aren't going to kill me yet.'

**We are considering it. Of course, there is the chance that we could be persuaded otherwise.**

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, his mouth growing stern.

'How so?'

**Show us how to manipulate Time Lord technology. We wish to learn it's secrets.**

'And in return you won't kill me? Sorry, but I'll pass,' The Doctor replied defiantly. The Zriekas Master bristled in anger.

**You would sacrifice your life and that of the Source to retain the Time Lords secrets?**

The Doctor nodded happily, finally cottoning on to the Zriekas' plan. They weren't out to kill him, not yet. The explosion in the lift was meant only to injure him sufficiently to pose no threat to them. They _needed_ him. He was the only one who knew _exactly _how to run the ship, pilot it, use its technology, reactivate its...

He went cold. The smile slipped from his face and his eyes opened fearfully.

'You have Time Lord weaponry, don't you?'

The question hung over the room like a deadly gas. Whosoever breathed first was dead. The Master shifted slightly.

**Perhaps. By nature, the Zriekas are a scavenger race, picking through the remnants of dead planets, taking whatever we can use. When we survived the Time War, we searched long and hard for the remnants of Gallifrey, thought to have been removed from space and time.**

'It _was_ removed from space and time!'

**We know. What remained of the planet, we discovered in a lost corner of the void during a reconnisance mission. We took what appeared to be useable, including what we believe to be part of its arsenal.**

The Doctor felt his mouth go dry. If the Zriekas discovered how to operate _any_ of the ancient equipment, every reality, every _universe_ would be in terrible danger. He pushed his shoulders back in an attempt to appear brave and staunch. Inside, he was shaking in fear.

'You must be insane if you think that I would _ever_ give you the knowledge to activate a Time Lord weapon! They were designed _specifically_ to target races like yours! Threats to time and space and the natural order!' The Doctor roared in desperation. The Master grinned; a chilling, lop-sided grimace shared by the crew present.

**Which is why we require your knowledge. Those weapons were designed to target us. We intend to redesign them to target the races **_**we**_** choose. The Zriekas will be scavengers no more.**

The Doctor slumped and hung his head as the Master clomped over, pressing his ion cannon against the Time Lord's head.

**You have ten seconds to decide, Doctor**, the Master hissed. The Doctor looked up, sadly.

'There is only one choice I can take,' he said, his tone holding a note of finality. The Master lessened the pressure against his head.

**Then I expect you will assist us?**

The Doctor felt numb and a tear escaped over his cheek. _I wish I could have said goodbye, Sandi_, he thought. He stared boldly up at the Zrieka.

'Then you expect _wrong_,' he growled. The Zrieka roared, jamming the cannon back to his head. The Doctor closed his eyes and awaited his death.

_**BOOM**_

The room was littered with bits of wall and computer as every screen exploded, sending the crew flying backwards to crash on the floor. The Master looked toward the door. The Doctor, grateful to still be alive, peered through half-shut eyelids. The dust cleared quickly, apparently sucked back towards the doorway, in which a tall, humanoid figure with long black hair and glowing eyes stood staring furiously at the Master and his hostage. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief, an instant grin appearing on his face. He looked up at his captor, who appeared to be dumbstruck.

'Looks like the calvary has arrived after all,' he crowed. The Zrieka frowned, shoving the Doctor slightly away. The figure glowed with an almost blinding golden light but behind it, something altogether different was happening. The corridor was yawning; shrieking and howling, tearing itself to bits before rebuilding itself perfectly. The Doctor stared.

'That... but it _can't_ be, can it? The Time Vortex?!'

'Doctor.'

The figure spoke and the light faded away. Her eyes returned to an icy blue. The Doctor gasped.

'Sandi?'

The girl looked at him sadly.

'I'm sorry, Doctor, I truly am. There was no other choice. She has sacrificed herself for you.'

His blood ran cold. Every joint went numb and his limbs turned to rubber.

'What?'

'Sandi gave up her life to restore mine. She... I... we _had_ to save you.'

**So we meet at last,** the Master croaked, somewhat less confident than he had before. The young woman narrowed her eyes.

'So its you. The Master of all Zriekas meets the Source of all Time.'

**I would say it was an honour, Shandaiah, but that would be a lie. You know why we are here.**

Shandaia inclined her head slightly.

'You want lordship over time. Its beginning, its end. You want the gift of being able to bend it, loop it, transform it and use it like a weapon. You want me.'

The Zrieka gave a mock-bow.

**And in exchange, we will allow the other Time Lords to survive.**

Shandaiah laughed bitterly.

'Do you actually believe that I would even _consider_ allowing my powers to migrate to such a barbaric race? You are _tiny_, mere ants nipping at my toes in a hope of making me your next victim. So listen, you creatures of time. This _ends _here!'

As she spoke the words, the corridor's roar grew louder. The Doctor clapped his hands over his ears to shut out the noise as the vortex behind her yawned wider. The Master took a step backwards.

**Remember, Shandaiah. Remember your brother, Tarrant. I killed him outside your pod. He cowered in the end, begging for mercy.**

Shandaiah was silent as the cyclonic corridor howled behind her. Her eyes glowed like coals, regaining their golden colour.

'Luckily for you, Master, I don't hold a grudge!'

Then time stalled. The Doctor watched helplessly as the time vortex rushed past and through Shandaiah and onwards to envelop the now screaming Zriekas. As the silence settled, he heard a voice whisper in his ear.

'Doctor, can you hear me?'

He turned slowly, much to his surprise, pulling himself out of the stagnant room like he being dragged out of a mudpit. The room was now flooded with light from the vortex as he stared behind him. There, standing in the mangled doorway, was a very familiar sight. Sandi smiled weakly.

'Surprised to see me here?'

The Doctor's mouth fell open and he was struck dumb for a moment. Then he gave a short bark of a laugh, full of relief and joy at seeing his friend.

'Oh _God_, Sandi! She said you were dead!'

Sandi bit her lip. She moved slightly forward and the Doctor saw the reason she was so nervous. Her body was thin, almost transparent. Light poured through her like she was a stained glass window. Sandi shrugged.

'I am, well, almost. I _think_ I'm about ten or fifteen minutes away from kicking the bucket, but hey, what's new?'

'How can you _be_ here?' The Doctor asked, shaken and confused. Sandi smiled proudly.

'I discovered the reason why my brain is collapsing. Turns out that I have a greatly amplified psychic sense, which is causing my cerebellum to rot and decay at an amazing rate. You'd really be impressed.'

The Doctor looked slightly horrified.

'So you're using Shandaiah's brain the same way as she was using yours, in a way?'

'Yeah, but not for long. Once my body dies, I won't be able to inhabit Shandaiah's body. I'm just borrowing a bit of power from her to send this message. At the moment, I'm just a psychic projection. Just a ghost.'

The Doctor ruffled his hair, grinning slightly.

'You stopped time just to say goodbye. How romantic.'

Sandi laughed, throwing a mock punch.

'Don't get all mushy on me. There's things you need to know.'

'We have all the time in the world,' the Doctor said wryly. Sandi laughed again.

'I wanted you to know that I care so much about you. You protected me when you didn't have to, you knew what it was like to feel the way I did. I just wish that we had spent more time together.'

The Doctor smiled gently.

'We could have had such _great_ adventures, couldn't we?'

Sandi nodded, a wistful look on her face. The forms outside the vortex moved slightly, catching her attention.

'I don't have long. But trust Shandaiah, take care of her. She has your best interests at heart. Plus she's really quite a nice person and a lot like me.'

'So she's borderline insane with a curiousity complex?' the Time Lord quipped, unable to help himself. Sandi shook her head slowly.

'You really _are _something else, aren't you?'

'I try to be. Last Time Lord in existence and all... oh wait, I'm not. Damn.'

Sandi laughed and the Doctor noticed a transparent tear roll over her cheek. She reached out for him, but then appeared to think better of it.

'How I wish I could touch you,' she whispered. The Doctor felt cold, recalling his goodbye with Rose, realising for the first time what it was like in her shoes. Sandi shook her head.

'Rose isn't dead, she's just too far away to reach. But crossing _this_ void... it's scary. Like standing on the edge of a cliff and taking a leap of faith, praying that you won't fall.'

'I'm sorry,' the Doctor whispered.

'I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I promised I would, but I can't. I can't stop death.'

'There maybe a way for you to say goodbye, face to face,' came another voice. The Doctor stared, open-mouthed, as Shandaiah removed herself from the scene of destruction and moved towards the pair. She grinned humourless.

'You know, all you had to do was ask,' she said to Sandi. Sandi's spectre flushed with colour for a moment.

'I didn't think you'd let me.'

'I'd say I owe you a favour or two for putting me up for the better part of twenty years, don't you?'

'Well, I would have thought the whole "saving my life" thing would have covered that.'

Shandaiah laughed, then her face grew serious. She faced the Doctor, who was clearly having trouble working out what was going on in front of him. She touched his face gently.

'I had _such_ plans for us,' she whispered. The Doctor's face contorted with confusion.

'What do you mean? What's going on? Will someone _please_ start explaining what's happening here?!?'

The two girls laughed heartily at his baffled expression. Shandaiah elaborated.

'I can get you out of here, but I'm not going to survive. My body is going to be destroyed once I obliterate the ship.'

'Then don't do it!'

Sandi shook her head.

'She has to. It's the only way we can rid the universe of the Zriekas and trust me, Doctor, if we allow them to escape they will pose a bigger threat than the Daleks and Cybermen collectively. Believe me, if there was another way, we would have taken it.'

Shandaiah put her hands on the Doctor's shoulders.

'Here's the plan and don't argue, because I'm not good at listening. In a moment, I'm going to pull a temporal shift and put you and Sandi back on your TARDIS several hundred miles away. That should be far enough away to stop the blast from causing any damage. If I'm right and I usually am, Sandi might just have the strength to say goodbye in person. At least this way, you'll be able to hold her.'

She turned to Sandi's ghost.

'You know what? I'm really going to miss you. You weren't a gracious host, but damn if you weren't good fun.'

Sandi laughed, clapping her hands.

'Yeah, you weren't so bad yourself. Take care, yeah?'

Shandaiah winked cheekily.

'Always have. You too, yeah? Well, I mean, for as long as you can.'

Sandi nodded. She faded away, the ghostly apparition disappearing from view, leaving the Doctor alone with Shandaiah. He held out a hand.

'Good luck,' he said softly. The Source smiled gently and shook his hand.

'You too. I'm sorry that I couldn't save her.'

'You've given me a chance to say goodbye properly. I have to be grateful for that.'

She nodded. Stepping back, Shandaiah spread her arms wide. Her eyes began to glow with an unworldly light. Tears streamed down her face.

'Goodbye, Doctor,' she whispered. The light grew unbearably bright and the Doctor fainted.

---------

Sandi felt the swift change of ground beneath her as her eyes fluttered open. It was all so hard now. She recognised the familiar floor of the Doctor's TARDIS and smiled tiredly. Shandaiah had done it. She struggled to sit up, her breathing ragged and her head on fire. Across the room, on the other side of the control panels and looking a little worse for wear, lay a familiar form.

'Doctor?' Sandi croaked. The body shifted slightly and issued a low moan, pulling itself upright and rubbing its head. She laughed in relief.

'Oh good _lord,_ you're alive!'

The Doctor squinted at her, then peered around at his surroundings.

'Did she do it? Did we make it?' The Time Lord asked groggily. Sandi crawled over and snuggled into his still-weak arms.

'Yeah, we made it,' she whispered. He tightened his arms around her.

'I'm so glad we did. So glad,' he murmured into her messy hair. Suddenly, an intensive wave of pain enveloped Sandi's head. She screamed with pain and clutched the Doctor's arm in a vice-grip. Colour drained from his face.

'I almost forgot,' he groaned. Sandi struggled to look up at him. The Doctor gasped. Her eyes were severly bloodshot, her face almost purple. He grabbed her head and quickly scanned her brain with the sonic screwdriver.

'Oh God, your brain... its... its almost completely disintegrated! Its barely holding itself together by just a few neurons... its amazing you've survived this much,' he choked. Sandi grinned weakly.

'Not... not bad for a useless human who likes to play with ancient relics, huh? I said you'd be impressed,' she coughed, spitting blood before collapsing against him. He grabbed her and watched in horror as her eyes rolled back in her head. Her heaving chest stilled and her arms went limp. The Doctor wept silently as he cradled the dead girl close, sending an unheard prayer to every God that he had never believed in.

---------

The Time Vortex howled around Shandaiah as it engulfed the Zriekas, tearing them atom from atom. The aliens shrieked and screamed, clawing at the rapidly dissolving control panels, desperate to survive. The Master remained perfectly still.

**You would destroy yourself, the ship and everyone aboard, Shandaiah? Hath Time no mercy?**

'The Doctor is safe. That is all I need to know,' she replied, increasing the ferocity of the vortex around her. The Master afforded her a smile of defeat.

**And that is what matters most. Those whom you love. I hope he is worth it, Source. I hope that your Doctor is worth slaughtering the Zriekas, the last remaining Time Lords and your own physical form to save.**

As the Master passed away and Shandaiah's own body began to disintegrate as the ship peeled itself apart, a tear slid over her cheek.

'No, he was _more_ than worth it,' she whispered.

---------

The ship tore itself apart from the inside. Shining cracks appeared in its outer hull and then, suddenly, it exploded in a silent orange fireball with such force that it rocked the TARDIS considerably. But momentarily, if one had been looking incredibly carefully in the right direction with the right equipment, it would have been noted that five escape pods jettisoned just before the explosion, firing off in different directions at tremendous speed to find a safe planet to rest on.

All that remained where the ship had been was an empty status pod, floating alone in space with the name SHANDAIAH engraved on a bronze plaque on the base.


	8. Chapter 8: Position Available

The Doctor carried Sandi's body to a fresh room in the TARDIS. He knew that the best thing would be to just dump her body in space, where it would simply float for eternity. But he couldn't do it... he just couldn't. He had to take her home to be buried. He looked at her face. She was so peaceful. He thought back to when he had first met her; stumbling clumsily over the lawn, she had run straight into him in the dark. She'd put up quite a fight when he had tried to cart her off without an explanation. He smiled wanly. Always the cynic. The room was empty, with only a few rolling medical stretchers and a chair inside. This was the make-shift medical bay, used for holding injured when the ship's real medical bay was full. He was now using it as a funeral parlour.

The Doctor lay Sandi's form down on one of the stretchers and pulled up the chair next to it. For the longest time, all he could do was stare sadly at her, not moving, not speaking. For the briefest period, he felt less alone than he had in centuries. For a moment, it seemed, he had been almost happy. He took out a clean hankerchief and wiped his face. She hadn't deserved this. She was just caught up in a struggle too big for her to understand and it had got her killed.

_Is that what you believe?_

For a moment, the Doctor wasn't sure if the question had come from his own mind. Suddenly, the TARDIS bucked sharply, sending the stretcher skittering off towards the wall. The Doctor caught it in time before it hit the wall and Sandi rolled off. He peered through a small window on the room's far side. A giant fireball was mushrooming soundlessly in space. He placed a long-fingered hand on the glass, dropped his chin to his chest and closed his eyes. As the TARDIS steadied itself in space, the Doctor looked up. There was nothing left of the ship. Every atom had been torn apart, an almighty nuclear explosion to rid the universe of the allies of evil.

But it had taken the source of all time with it and any chance the Doctor had of bringing Sandi back.

_Do you really __believe__ that?_

Now the Doctor _knew_ that the questions were definitely _not_ coming from inside his head. He knew that, left to his own devices, he'd wallow in self-pity and depression for a while before heading off. The other voice was questioning his despair. He strode to the centre of the room, less than confident that he wasn't going mad.

'Who are you? Identify yourself! This is my TARDIS and I _will_ know who is aboard,' he shouted, feeling slightly daft. The air shimmered slightly in front of him.

_Do you really want to know? I doubt you'd believe it if I told you._

The Doctor adopted his best 'do-**not**-mess' posture and folded his arms.

'I _said_, reveal yourself,' he hissed firmly. The air shimmered again, just slightly, then the image appeared. The Doctor gasped, eyes wide. She was almost ghost-like, a mere waif of her corporeal form, but she was there, right in front of him. Shandaiah smiled warmly at him.

_I said you wouldn't believe it._

He circled her, staring at and through her simultaneously. She was like cellophane; completely see-through, yet strangely substantial.

'I thought you were dead,' he whispered deadly, his voice devoid of emotion. Shandaiah nodded.

_I am. I died aboard the _Utopia_. I opened the Time Vortex and allowed its power to tear the ship apart, which caused the explosion when it hit the power cells._

'So you're back where you started? Mere consciousness floating among the stars?'

_With just enough residual energy to maintain this wraith-like form, Doctor. But enough of that. Did you make it in time?_

The Doctor felt his breath catch in his throat. His mouth was suddenly dry and his palms were sweating. He struggled to speak.

'In time for what?'

_To say goodbye. We both know that you loved her. I saw it long before you reached me. It was in the way you looked at her; buried deep behind all that loneliness and hurt, I saw the flicker of hope behind your eyes._

He was silent briefly, then met her eyes.

'Yes, I made it.'

Shandaiah looked at Sandi's dead body.

_She was a wonderful person. Such a wonderful human; full of mad and brilliant ideas, completely crazy yet totally loveable. Pity that she had to die so young. The universe will remember her sacrifice and honour her memory._

'How can it?'

Shandaiah looked at the Doctor. His fists were clenched and his mouth was set in a fine line. Anger boiled in the pit of his stomach and rage flared behind his dark eyes. The Source gave him a pitying look.

_Doctor..._

'How can a universe pity something it barely registered? How? The only thing that was special about Sandi to the universe was that she hosted the Source of all Time inside her head for nineteen years, who then dumped her when she found her own body but then promptly got it destroyed!' The Time Lord raged, stamping angrily around the room, one hand ruffling his hair brutally. The spectre looked down sadly.

_One person maybe be just one in the universe, but to another, that one person may just be the universe. I understand your pain. I, too, have lost those I love._

'How can you know of _love_?' The Doctor spat bitterly. He immediately regretted saying it as the ghost clouded furiously.

_Do not think you are the only one who has lost someone they care about here. At least YOU stand here, mostly unharmed and whole. Can you say the same for me? Am I to live as a normal Time Lord like this? Answer me, Doctor!_

He fell silent, thoroughly ashamed of his outburst. He soberly looked over at Sandi. Her skin was turning back from purple to white.

'So where will you go?'

_There is no where for me to go. Even if I could go somewhere, what use am I to anyone in this state?_

'You could share someone's brain like you did for Sandi.'

_And go through puberty again? No thanks, I'd like to keep my sanity._

The spirit drifted slowly towards Sandi.

_There is... one possibility, one I don't think you'll like, but it's a possibility nonetheless_.

'What?' The Doctor asked glumly. Shandaiah flickered for a moment.

_I have a little power left, not much, but enough for just more... miracle, as it were. I could regenerate Sandi._

The Doctor lifted his head and looked at her, his face blank and eyes dead but Shandaiah saw a familiar flicker of hope behind his eyes.

'You can't. It wouldn't be Sandi anymore. Sandi's dead.'

_Not quite. Only her brain has stopped. All her internal organs are perfectly fine. Plus, there's the fact that I wouldn't be regenerating my own body. There's every chance that Sandi will retain her own form. Look, I know it sounds risky, but..._

'Do it.'

Shandaiah closed her mouth and looked incredulously at him, like it wasn't possible that he had just given up the argument so easily. But he was staring at Sandi, his face soft and sad. He looked back at the Source, the silent tears running down his face.

'I said, do it. I want her back. I can't live with this pain anymore.'

_You must understand, Doctor, that if I do this, I will never be able to leave Sandi. This is the very last time I can do this. Her brain is too fragile to be left again. Do you understand, Doctor? Do you understand..._

'Do you understand what its like to have someone you... someone like _her_ die in your arms?! It's so... painful,' he said, cutting her off. Shandaiah shrunk back and faded slightly. The Doctor's eyes flashed.

'Don't go. Please. Save her.'

_Are you certain? Is that your decision?_

'I can't lose her, not like this. Do what you have to.'

The image of Shandaiah wavered for a moment and for a sickening second, he thought that she had changed her mind. Then she spoke.

_Will you tell her, then? The truth about why I saved her? How the Doctor finally thought about himself for a moment and selfishly pulled her back from the edge of darkness? Will you tell her then, Doctor, that you love her?_

The indeterminate look in his eyes made her laugh.

_I didn't think so_.

Shandaiah climbed onto the stretcher that held Sandi's body. She closed her eyes. The warmth of Sandi's body closed around her and she breathed. Sandi's lungs suddenly filled with air and every major organ sprang to life. She was alive. Almost.

---------

Somewhere on the edge of consciousness, Sandi floated. Formless, bodiless, she was just _there_. It was dark, so very dark, almost like being inside a gigantic cave where no light ever reached.

'So here you are.'

That voice, it was so familiar. Like something out of a dream. Sandi wafted around to stare blankly at the newcomer. Reason told her that she should feel something, _anything_, but it was impossible.

'I... can't feel. I should be feeling happy and scared at the same time, I know I should. You're alive and you're here. Is the Doctor safe?'

Shandaiah nodded.

'He's fine. He sent me. I've come to bring you back, Sandi. You don't belong here.'

Sandi blinked blankly at her.

'I should feel. But I don't.'

'Humans need a body to feel. All feelings are by-products of stimuli and hormones, but to truly understand them, the consciousness needs receptors and an interpretation system. Right now, you have neither.'

'Why are you here? In this... no place?'

'I've come to bring you back to your body, at the insistance of the Doctor. He was determined not to lose you.'

'I died in his arms, didn't I?'

'Yes, yes you did. I'm sorry.'

'It's fine. It's not like I can feel anger or sorrow. But if I'm dead, how can I return to the side of the living?'

'You can make the choice. But if you do, I will have to remain with you forever. My own body was destroyed and the limited amount of power I have left is just enough to regenerate your body. But your brain won't handle me leaving again. I'll have to remain inside your head, continuously regenerating your brain.'

'But if you do that, won't I change, like the Doctor?'

'I'm not one hundred percent sure about that. It's not my body I'm regenerating and you're technically dead. There's every likelyhood that you'll wake up with everything you went to sleep with.'

Sandi was quiet for a moment. Her spectre faded from sight for a moment and Shandaiah's breath caught in her throat, terrified that she had faded entirely away. But suddenly she blinked back into existence.

'For the Doctor,' she whispered, her voice as soft as the wind. Shandaiah nodded.

'Yes. He wants you to come back. He's falling apart without you.'

'My Doctor...'

'That's right,' the Source nodded as the apparition strengthened in front of her. Colour returned Sandi's face. Shandaiah grinned. _As long as Sandi uses the Doctor as her link to life, it might just be enough to pull her back,_ she thought. She held out her hand.

'Take my hand and close your eyes,' she commanded. Sandi reached out for her, then stopped.

'What's wrong?'

'I want to be on equal terms this time. If I'm putting you up, there's going to be rules.'

'Okay, go ahead.'

'You're not going to hide from me. I'm in charge of my mind at all times and you will only speak when spoken to.'

'Fair enough.'

'One more thing.'

'Go on.'

'Promise that if ever the Doctor is in danger and needs help desperately, you'll use my body to help him.'

Shandaiah smiled at her new friend.

'I promise.'

Sandi reached out and grabbed Shandaiah's hand, closing her eyes. Light exploded behind her eyes and pain seared through every limb. As Sandi moved back into her body and she sunk into her subconscious, Shandaiah had one last, sleepy thought.

_Perhaps it would be best if she remembered nothing of her own death..._

---------

Light exploded silently in the room. The Doctor was forced to shield his eyes as the blinding rays permeated the room.

_She's regenerating! She did it! She brought Sandi back_, he thought as the light filled every corner. Then, just as suddenly as it began, the light disappeared. The Doctor rubbed his eyes and stared at Sandi. There she lay, exactly as she had always been; unmoving, not breathing. But then...

'---cough--- Urrrrgh...'

Sandi's eyes shot open as she sucked in her first, real breath. The Doctor laughed with relief, clapping his hands. Sandi's hand flew to her head.

'Ye _Gods_, do I have a headache. What the hell's going on? Where am I? Where's the Doctor? I...' she burbled, stopping abruptly as the Doctor in question threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

'Hey! Hey... hey... can't... breathe...'

'You died, oh God you _died_ and now you're _fine_! Oh God, I thought I'd lost you and you were dead and and and...'

'Stop stuttering. You sound like an idiot.'

The Doctor laughed again, tears streaming down his face. Sandi buried her face into his shoulder and held him close.

'I thought I'd never see you again... what happened?'

He pulled away, staring into her eyes, which were full of confusion.

'You mean, you don't remember? Anything?'

'Well, I gather that I died at some point. But the last thing that I remember is checking those pods with you on the _Utopia_... oh, Doctor! What about the ship? Are we still on board? Where are we?'

Carefully editing the events to his favour, the Doctor recounted the series of events, leaving out the three-way chat between himself, Sandi and Shandaiah. Sandi sat and listened attentively.

'So, Shandaiah killed herself to save us? That's very... _noble_, isn't it?'

'You could say that. I'm just thoroughly relieved that she regenerated your brain and saved your life!'

'So... everything's fine now? Everything's back to normal?'

'Well, as normal as it gets for me.'

There was a silence as the reality of the situation settled in. Sandi cleared her throat nervously.

'I suppose... I suppose this means that you'll be taking me home, then?'

The Doctor looked decidedly uncomfortable for a moment. Then he brightened.

'Well, I could, that is, unless you wanted to apply.'

'Apply for what, exactly?'

'There's a position availble. TARDIS crew member. My assistant. The pay's terrible, but the transport and accommodation is free. You get to travel through all of space and time, setting history right and in return you get to see some of the most spectacular sights the universe has to offer.

Sandi appeared to think it over. For a moment, the Doctor was genuinely worried as to what her answer would be. Then...

'So, do I like, have to fill out an application form and hand in my resume?'

The Doctor laughed and took her hand, helping her off the stretcher.

'The job's yours, if you want it.'

Sandi chuckled and looked out of the window, where stars wheeled gently past in a myriad of light.

'How could I pass this up? Don't know about you, but to me, this is one _hell_ of a promotion.'

As the pair strode back into the central control room of the TARDIS, Sandi's phone bleeped quietly. The Doctor watched curiously as she read the text. Sandi's head shot up, her face pale as a ghost.

'Doctor, we need to get back to Earth! There's something terribly wrong!'

**THE END**

**Stay tuned for Part Two: Game On.**


End file.
